I'm not racist, you're not homophobic
Separating equality and fairness from racism
"Doesn't change the fact that Jeff Tozzer is #1 a conspiracy theorist, and #2 racist - 100% tribe hater. You know, let them not pay taxes! Their fucking ancestrial LAND was STOLEN from them and they were tricked and abused by white settlers and the government. I'm happy for them. And they do TONS of good things for the community - they give so much back! Provide for needs when nobody else is starting new stuff up - dental, medical, addiction treatment. For fucks sake. They are good people and good for them for being amazing business people. No private company is faulted for making profit and taking tax advantages when they can. Why doesn't Jeff Tozzer get pissed off about that?" — Facebook post
Over a year ago, a woman approached me after the “Reopen Towne Road” rally. Like many others, she wasn’t at the Dungeness Schoolhouse simply because the closure of Towne Road affected her; she recognized it as a more significant community issue. She had something to say that she hadn’t shared during the meeting.
“Just so you know, you’re going to get called racist,” she told me matter-of-factly.
I was puzzled and asked her why.
“You’re going against the Tribe.” She was a straight shooter who didn’t pad her answers. By then, the Jamestown Tribe had formally asked the County to pause completing the road for three years. County leadership seemed to be faltering on its promise to deliver a completed road to the community.
I was confident that no one would call me racist for trying to reopen a road. I thanked her for coming and bid her goodnight, but the look in my eye gave away what I was really thinking — I knew she was wrong.
She thanked me and wished me happy holidays, but the look in her eye said something more — she knew she was right.
Clearing the confusion
I should have clarified something long ago. In the age of cable news, blogs, and social media, “news” has become confusing.
I am not a journalist. I’m just a guy with a blog. Clallam County Watchdog is a collection of my opinions, which I often form by reviewing facts. I share those opinion-forming facts in my articles and invite readers to form their own opinions.
My first opinion was that a public infrastructure project planned, designed, engineered, constructed, promised to, and paid for by the public should be open to the public. The project was Towne Road, and reopening it was controversial. Some wanted exclusive access to the county road while it remained closed to the public. A sovereign nation wanted the road to become an outdoor classroom.
Initially, I posted information and public records on Nextdoor.com because I thought it was important for the public to have information about the Towne Road project, and local media wasn’t covering the topic. I was censored, removed, and eventually banned from Nextdoor, so I started my own website which continues to grow.
I believe in free speech and respectful dialogue. Clallam County Watchdog has become a place for people to express their opinions without fear of censorship. In 15 months, no comments have been removed. Subscribers share knowledge, and we’ve all learned from reader contributions — many comments have led to articles.
“A WOKE team of truthful PhD's who can go up against master manipulation in a blog need to read up on what's being posted to the Clallam County Watchdog Substack account and start a counter blog with peer review facts. ASAP The discrimination inferred is out of this world. Nobody is doing anything. It's part of some strategy and don't know where this is going but that blog has already had in person meet ups and far right media influencer here in May at a meet and greet. Mailers have been sent to the entire Sequim community in several bursts advertising the Substack.” — Facebook post
Confusion also stems from the term “The Jamestown Tribe.” When I use that term, I’m referring to the profitable corporation that brings in tens of millions each year, including millions from taxpayer-funded grants. I’m not referring to Jamestown tribal members. My questions and criticism often involve employees of the Jamestown Tribe, many of whom are not tribal members.
Some background
My family has been in Jamestown for seven generations, and we have a long relationship with our tribal neighbors.
Family lore says that my great, great, great, great uncle (an indentured servant) jumped ship at a Hudson’s Bay trading post in the British Empire. Native tribesmen paddled him from Victoria across the Strait to Dungeness, where he found freedom.
My uncle wrote to his nephews in Scotland and told them that their knowledge of dairy farming would translate well to this fertile land and temperate climate. The nephews arrived. One became sheriff of Port Townsend, and one, my great-great grandfather, served on Port Angeles’ first City Council. He married a schoolteacher from Eden Valley, and they raised my great-grandfather on a dairy farm in Jamestown.
I live in the home bought by my great-great-grandparents. My parents taught me to respect and value everyone in our community, including the many Jamestown tribal members who are my neighbors today.
The McInnes family were the only white residents on Jamestown Beach for nearly a century. My mom, Judy, made lifelong friends with the children who rode her school bus — many were Jamestown tribal members. It was common for my grandparents to trade dairy and meat products for Dungeness crab and steamer clams. During Mom’s childhood, when my grandparents were poor (which was often), our Jamestown neighbors never let our family go hungry.
Many of the workers on our dairy farm were Jamestown tribal members, and my grandpa’s best milker was Leonard Wood. To hear my mom talk about Leonard was to hear her talk about a favorite uncle. When Leonard died, he was laid to rest next to his father, Dan, in the tribal cemetery. My great-uncle maintained their graves and carved headstones for them after the paper grave markers had fluttered away. Years later, when the Jamestown Tribe restored the cemetery, my Uncle Doug’s carved headstones identified who rested in those plots.
My Dad moved from Forks to Sequim in the ‘40s when he was in 3rd grade. His classmates, football teammates, and army friends were tribal members for which he had a deep respect.
My family is not racist.
Oh, Canada
In addition to respect, my parents valued honesty and fairness. I wasn’t political before September 2023, but a commissioner lied to me. When I asked him, he covered it up with another lie, then another. The lies he told hid something that wasn’t honest or fair, and it ignited something in me that I didn’t know existed.
I believe the lies I was told were meant to distract me while the commissioner carried out the desires of a sovereign nation. There are nearly 200 sovereign nations worldwide and 574 federally recognized American tribal nations; each one prioritizes its own interests, understandably.
I don’t see the Jamestown Tribe differently than Mexico or Canada — we can collaborate with them as valuable partners, but they have their own goals. What would you think if you were to read this in the news?
After expressing interest in evicting homeowners from Dungeness, the Canadian company deliberately breached the dike early, nearly causing mass casualties and flooding. American taxpayers paid the estimated $13 million in repair costs. Canada offered Clallam County Commissioners $500,000 if a resolution was drafted absolving Canada of blame, and the commissioners agreed.
If Canada, a sovereign nation, was responsible for these actions, would asking legitimate questions be racist?
Not only is the Jamestown Tribe a sovereign nation, but it’s also a multimillion-dollar corporation driven by growth and profits. It’s a business that is run like a business.
Imagine if Costco didn’t have to collect sales tax for the items it sold or pay property tax for its warehouse, but Swain’s and Forks Outfitters were still required to. Would that be fair?
If our small businesses were competing against corporations behaving this way, would it be acceptable to ask why? This is what Clallam County Watchdog is doing: We’re asking why and highlighting the hypocrisy in this County.
Equal, not special
Growing up gay, I watched the generation ahead of me fight for marriage equality. In my 30s, singing with the Seattle Men’s Chorus, we continued the push. Our message was, “We want equal rights, not special rights.”
Government agencies and community leaders shouldn’t decide who gets preferential treatment and who is awarded special rights. They should ensure that all constituents are afforded equal rights. Something unfair is happening in Clallam County, and it needs fixing.
The biggest thing we can do is separate this issue of equality and fairness from racism. If I shamed people and called them homophobic for criticizing my blog, would that be appropriate or constructive? No, it would be a lazy and disingenuous argument intended to distract.
One person who criticizes me the most, pushes against my ideas, and challenges my point of view is my husband. He’s not homophobic; he’s just wrong a lot of the time.
If you want to criticize my opinions or perspectives, I’m open to hearing it. But if you simply want to call me a racist, this Queen isn’t listening.
Polls
Last week, subscribers were asked, “What's the best way for the County to engage the public?” Of 164 votes, 81% chose “free public meetings,” 15% chose “social media,” 1% chose “radio,” and 0% chose “booths at events.” 4% chose “other,” and in the comments, many explained the benefits of multiple forms of engagement.
Racist is not a word that should be applied to a person who disagrees with the actions of someone different than themselves. No one has made accusations of racism because of Mr. Tozzer's attitude against a certain politician. To me, that seems a bigger issue. I applaud Mr. Tozzer's brave stance in this entire issue. The questions he asks should be a legitimate concern to everyone in Clallam County. We all have experienced racism, from "dumb " Norwegian jokes to Black, Chicano, Irish, Asian stereotyping. We laugh at many of these, but that doesn't make us racist. Hateful actions against people who are different than us makes us that. Harming them physically, bullying them, destroying their property, that is racism, people. Let's not throw that term around.
Earlier in life my passion for Steelhead trout led me to become a resource advocate. Going through the various chair positions I became the President of the Steelhead Trout Club of Washington in the late 70s. I understand it to be the oldest conservation club in the State. The Boldt Decision, giving treaty tribes 50% of the harvestable fish, became a very divisive issue and spawned racism. I was then a disliked defender and advocate for the tribes in light of historical abuse. That script has flipped. The abused and their abusers no longer live. I now see Aboriginal peoples exercising ancestral rights intended to maintain their ancestral way of life using modern technology that they had no part in creating. I see gaming rights that non-treaty citizens do not have. I see treaty benefactors harvesting fish and wildlife when non-treaty citizens cannot. I see tax benefits, grants and other financial advantages that non-treaty citizens do not have. This is the very definition of discrimination. Whatever the price of a national guilty conscience might be is now paid. Prior to European colonization British Columbia tribal war parties would visit murder and rape on Washington tribes. There were no reparations then. Whatever legal certification that might exist to verify sufficient Aboriginal ancestry to enjoy rights beyond others is destined to become extinct. Discrimination cannot be cured with discrimination.