Summary

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey issued executive orders eliminating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in state-run institutions and introducing religious exemptions to school vaccination requirements.

Morrisey claimed DEI initiatives foster “preferential treatment” and referenced the 2023 Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action.

The vaccine exemption policy overturns one of the nation’s strictest vaccination rules, which had historically maintained high rates.

Public health experts warn the change could threaten immunity levels and worsen health outcomes in a state already struggling with poor health metrics.

  • oh_@lemmy.world
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    10 hours ago

    Just wait for Trump’s first day. We will get this awesome federally too. So much winning! (/s)

  • rustyspoon@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I’m really disappointed by the rhetoric in these comments. I’m also disappointed that this guy was elected governor. However, I think it would be nice if people recognized West Virginia’s history before basically “slurring” the State’s entire population. West Virginia exists because half of Virginia opposed slavery and decided they didn’t want to be part of the confederacy. It’s also the location of multiple famous labor disputes, such as the battle of Blair Mountain, a literal battle between striking union workers and corporate-backed private security.

    I don’t appreciate people pejoratively calling all West Virginias “sister fuckers”. I don’t appreciate the ignorance to the fact that the phrase “redneck” originates from the red bandanas worn by striking Virginian laborers. That’s a phrase that should be used to show respect, not for denigration.

    West Virginians are underprivileged. The state was a victim of obscene wealth and resource extraction at the hands of mining companies, from which they have never recovered. It’s also a state with a rich history of working class solidarity and rebellion. I can’t think of a less evil permutation of “rural, southern living”. I can’t imagine a more “perfect” victim of the socioeconomic/political landscape in the southern United States. And if urban/coastal leftists can’t find solidarity with even THESE rural people, I don’t see how there’s any hope for unity in this country.

    Sorry for the long comment. Maybe I’m overreacting but this comment section has utterly disgusted me. The dehumanizing language and gleeful hopes about harm befalling an entire state’s population are gross, weird, and deplorable.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      And what have the people of West Virginia chosen during our lifetimes? Where is that solidarity now? Where is the concern for workers rights? Where is the concern about the mountains (or lack thereof) of toxic mining debris? Where is their concern for their really amazing environment? Where is their concern about education and for their own towns, their children, their public health, their future?

      Maybe you can dismiss me as an elitist snob thinking I know better than they do, but I’ve voted for better for them every time, and they consistently voted against their own best interests. I’d be more than happy for my tax dollars to invest in a better West Virginia . They just need to accept it and put it to work for more than just enriching the coal barons that have made that place a hellhole. And of course I don’t know what they need but I know it starts with an investment into their future that they need to be willing to accept and _use to better their circumstances _

    • jj4211@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      I will have to point out that the most recent example given of WV being a bastion of people fighting for labor rights was over a hundred years ago.

      By the same logic, Republicans should be heralded as the advocates for people of color forever because Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.

      Maybe it’s unreasonable to be rude about the populace, but neither should we perceive them all according to their civil war stance over 150 years ago and a major labor dispute over a 100 years ago.

    • bcgm3@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Wait till you see the comments on any thread about Florida.

      People like to broadly label strangers, putting them away into neatly-labeled boxes in their minds. It makes it easy to ignore the suffering of the innocent, because there are no innocents in [insert location here].

  • Etterra
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    2 days ago

    I shouldn’t be surprised given the fact that it’s West Virginia. I can’t wait for the day with the government there shuts down because the next super flu has reaped a bloody scythe through it.

    • Goodmorningsunshine@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      I just hope they’re denied disaster aid when it happens, but it won’t be because at that time they’ll just it just for being a red, anti-woke sister-fucking state.

  • Blackout@fedia.io
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    2 days ago

    might as well open government-run opiate factories and go whole hog on destroying your state.