Nebraska political leaders fail to represent the diversity of the people they serve
By Phillip Brown, Contributor
A Caucasian man in the later quadrants of his life was handed a position of power in the Nebraska State Government on Monday. Without being elected to the position, this old white guy was given the second-highest position of power in the state by another old white guy and will ascend to the position of highest authority if something should happen to the other white guy, who himself initially rose to the position of Top White Guy in the State from the aforementioned second-in-command position.
The Caucasian man, who is also getting on in years, will serve as the president of the state’s legislative branch, and is entrusted with the direction of Information Technology, Economic Development and Homeland Security as part of the position granted to him by his fellow white-skinned male.
Interestingly enough, this particular white guy, who goes by the name of John E. Nelson, is the third old white guy to be appointed by the Number One white guy, Governor Heineman, in his term. The idea of the second-highest office in the entire state being handed off freely by the incumbent white man shouldn’t be a disturbing thought at all; after all, the governor doing the handing off has been elected by the population, so his claim to power is wholly legitimate.
Never mind that our current governor, Heineman, who was elected to the position of lieutenant governor in 2001, then full-fledged governor in 2005 after the previous white governor resigned, and named his successor in the same year: becoming lieutenant governor, governor and handing the first position off to another white guy without a single vote being cast.
In fact, the position hasn’t actually been voted on since Heineman began his reign over a decade ago, but this is by no means anything to be worried or concerned about and is doubtlessly healthy for any democratic government. Omaha’s own white guy John E. Nelson follows fellow white men Lavon Heidemann and Rick Sheehy in the illustrious tradition and is the fifth out of the six latest to be handed the position on a proverbial golden platter.
Nelson was born two decades before color TV was nationally broadcast and has progressed yearly in age since then. His age group (over 65), whiteness and maleness put him in an exclusive 6 percent slice of the state’s population, but he can surely be trusted to truly understand and represent the other 94 percent of Nebraska, including those aren’t as fortunate as the former lawyer. And the position has seen diversity, it cannot be argued. Two entire white women have held the position for a grand total of 6 percent of the position’s existence, and one of them was under 40!
Any suggestions that such a position has devolved to a “sausage-fest,” an “old boy’s club,” “almost unbelievably one-sided when it comes to racial diversity” or any such gross misnomers would be downright disrespectful to the office. Some people will doubtlessly see all these things in a negative light. There will always be haters trying to rain on your parade.
