As Nashville’s utility company struggled to recover from a catastrophic ice storm and its Democratic mayor ordered a review, some conservatives attacked diversity training.

A massive ice storm that plunged tens of thousands of Tennessee homes into darkness has become a political flash point as angry residents cope with power outages stretching into a second week.

The finger-pointing escalated this week as some Republicans argued that a major utility company run by Democratic appointees has “woke” policies on diversity and tree-trimming that are the causes of customers’ woes.

There’s bipartisan and widespread consensus that Nashville Electric Service, which serves the city as well as surrounding counties, mishandled the storm, struggling to mobilize enough workers and equipment to quickly clear fallen trees and restore service.

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[–] 32 points 9 months ago (1 child)

Of course they would. These people aren't educated enough to understand the systems of government. They just point at a problem and scream "wOkE!!!" because it's all they have. Anger and vitriol.

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  • [+] 15 points 9 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 14 points 9 months ago

    If the utility company actually cut their tree-trimming budget to save some canopy, then that is a massive management failure, full stop.

    You're falling for the bullshit. They didn't "cut the tree-trimming budget." If they spent less (which is disputed by the utility, BTW), it would've been because they employed actual arborists who did all the pruning they thought was actually necessary, and that turned out to save money compared to indiscriminately hacking them up like they'd been doing before.

    The Republican morons are accusing the utility company of caring about the tree canopy, using skilled professionals to do a more careful job, and saving money in the process. That's what they're trying to spin as somehow a bad thing!


    The article references another article from a "conservative media outlet," which itself references a video interview the "woke NES CEO" apparently gave (months ago, before the storm). Here's a direct quote from that second unashamedly-biased article:

    During an August 2025 appearance on Urban League Live, Broyles-Aplin said NES – which she noted outsources its tree trimming – avoids aggressive trimming practices and instead relies on species-specific plans overseen by in-house arborists.

    “We care about the canopy. We have to live here too,” Broyles-Aplin said at the time.

    “And so I don’t want us out destroying the canopy,” she added. “We do species specific trimming…We take a lot of pride in making sure that we are cutting the trees in a healthy fashion.”

    ...that's it. That's their smoking gun, that they think is so terrible. The most damning things the 'woke Democrat' said in the interview: "car[ing] about the canopy" and "cutting the trees in a healthy fashion."

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago

    A book for basic dickheads

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago*

    Now that they've (allegedly) found the leader of Portland Antifa, maybe next they'll find the leader of Woke.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago
    54 comments in c/nottheonion@lemmy.world view that post
    [–] 139 points 9 months ago (27 children)

    “It’s certainly not a conservative value to leave the trees hanging around power lines that will fall during a storm,” he said.

    He seems to be saying it's a Democrat value to do things wrong on purpose?

    It's a terrible terrible sign that tree trimming is being viewed through this partisan lens.

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  • [–] 91 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    These people are mentally broken. 

    I do not understand it. 

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  • [–] 12 points 9 months ago*

    They're just opportunists using any means they can to score political brownie points.

    This Democratic mayor would be better served pointing out the fallacies in Republican arguments than kowtowing to Republican pressure and blaming the limited number of utility workers for not completing this monumental task fast enough. He could point out that Blackburn and Co. have been sitting on this 'DEI training' and 'tree trimming cutback' nonsense waiting for something like this to happen rather than acting upon it if they truly believed it was a risk to the grid. How else would she and her cronies have this information to pull out of their ass the instant something bad happens?

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  • [–] 23 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    And it most definitely is a Republican value. That is the result of tax cuts, you get worse public services.

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Why don't you guys, you know, bury the power lines?

    Hanging electric wires from wooden poles is wild to me. They do that in some rural parts of Europe.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Cost, because distances involved with how spread out the US is. And because Capitalism of course.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    It's about priorities, not cost. And to an extent I suspect it's about culture, too.

    I'm not talking about how to connect distant towns to each other, that's done with power lines. But in one-family home suburbia it's easy to provide underground power as a utility. You've already got your plumbing underground, just add a pipe for wires.

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago (14 children)

    No, he's complaining that Democrats value trimming trees right (to maintain the long-term health of the tree) instead of indiscriminately butchering them to get them clear of the power lines as quickly and cheaply as possible.

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  • [–] 21 points 9 months ago (13 children)

    Tree trimmers are not thinking to themselves "is this how a Republican or a Democrat would trim a tree?" They're cutting like they were trained to do. Politics could not be less involved.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago* (11 children)

    Yes, except that training to care about tree health instead of only cost/efficiency is a thing Democrats do.

    The training isn't political, but which training gets chosen is.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    My blue ass state is constantly trimming trees around power lines. I've worked cutting trees on state land, but the electric company itself does the power lines, the state makes certain they maintain it. They'll prep for storms like this well in advance. I've been sad for some of the trees I've seen taken (gorgeous old trees have a place in my heart), but it's for the best sometimes.

    Historically blue state, We don't get power outages often, and if it occurs they are resolved quickly. "Which training gets chosen" it's the one that maintains the grid, thats the training that gets chosen.

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  • [–] -1 points 9 months ago* (9 children)

    Nobody does trainings on tree health. That's not how any of this works. They do apprenticeships. Once they finish they're basically free to do whatever they want.

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (5 children)

    You're the one who doesn't know how any of this works. Haven't you ever heard of an arborist? They even have a professional standards organization that offers certifications and everything.

    More to the point, the article references this interview where somebody from the electric company apparently describes their pruning standards. If you think such standards don't exist, explain WTF you think is going on in the interview!

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago* (4 children)

    That's someone describing an occupation that they have no idea about. Arborist is the step above journeyman tree trimmer. There are specific rules about what an Arborist is allowed to do vs. what a regular tree trimmer is allowed to do. Mainly working within certain distances of powerlines. Kinda like how EMT Paramedic is the step above EMT Basic. There isn't anything "woke" going on in tree trimming. Just like there isn't anything "woke" happening at paramedic school.

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    Okay, I don't think you understand the point I was making.

    I'm not saying I think there's anything "woke" about tree trimming, or that having certified arborists who know what the fuck they're doing is somehow a bad thing -- the notion is ludicrous.

    What I'm doing is explaining why they (Republican morons) claim there's something "woke" about tree trimming (i.e. explaining the kernel of truth that they're twisting out of proportion to form the basis of their lie), and how they're wrong.

    Going back to the beginning, you wrote...

    "He seems to be saying it’s a Democrat value to do things wrong on purpose?"

    ....and I was explaining how, although that's what the Republican moron might claim, it's ass-backwards compared to factual reality.

    What he's actually saying is that it's a Democrat value to do things right on purpose, and complaining about it. That's an even more insane and broken mentality than you gave him credit for.

    To continue your EMT analogy, it's like if Republican morons were bitching and moaning that trained paramedics were a thing, and wanted ambulances to be staffed by quacks doing bloodletting and trying to balance bodily humours instead. (Which, with RFK Jr. in charge, probably isn't far off!)

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (2 children)

    There is nothing political about this. At all. There are trees. They need to be cut within a certain distance of the line. Budges get cut, they get behind, and a tree they thought they'd trim again in 2 years becomes one that causes a power outage 3 years later. That's how it goes.

    There's not a left or right wing way to trim a tree. There's a correct way and a wrong way. It's about how many miles they need to do in how much time.

    You're imagining an argument about fast and efficient vs. slow and careful. In reality they're highlighting the dangerous trees and making sure those ones get done in ideal weather, and the others can get done in less than ideal weather. It gets done at the speed it gets done.

    Again, it could not be less political.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago* (1 child)

    Except it is, because the Republicans make it political.

    There's not a left or right wing way to trim a tree. There's a correct way and a wrong way. It's about how many miles they need to do in how much time.

    Yeah, and the Republicans want to force it to be done wrong while claiming the opposite. It's nonsense, but you can't deny the nonsense exists.

    It only takes one side to politicize.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

    These contracts are short, like 1-2 years. Typically you re-trim every 2 years. So if you do a terrible job and then get outbid 2 years later, you basically walk away with money and leave the next contractor with extra work. That's the typical situation. That's often how these sorts of disasters happen. Someone underbid and then couldn't deliver. Now it's the taxpayer's problem.

    Again, it's not political. Someone underbid. Someone accepted the underbid. The contractor that underbid couldn't accomplish the task. Now they're behind. Where are you seeing a left and right in this?

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Certified arborists aren’t real? You ever got a quote from an arborist versus a redneck with a chainsaw? Guess who the cities will hire if there’s no oversight?

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (1 child)

    Seems like it's different in about half the country. Interesting.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    Yes. Based on if you value getting the job done, or getting the job done right. My mom just lost a bunch of nice trees in front of her house. The city wanted to save money and destroy the character of the neighborhood, so they did. There’s a law preventing home owners from doing their own trimming. And the city is too cheap to do it right. So you get destruction of property value and shittier neighborhoods for it. 4 Generations of kids walked to school under those trees but the city probably saved $3,000 to remove them for the next 4 generations. Great success

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    The only saving grace to that quote is it is from a Michael Lotfi, the deputy state director of Americans for Prosperity Tennessee, a conservative group. A man of no office or consequence.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    Why the hell would Tennessee’s electrical grid be all woke, anyway? Are these people totally powerless before the might of the treehuggers? I cannot believe their shameless victim bleating.

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  • [–] 78 points 9 months ago

    The same party that blamed the texas blackout on the only sources of power that actually stayed operational.

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  • [–] 124 points 9 months ago
    [–] 41 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Must really suck donkey ass to be infected with the broke mind virus.

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  • [–] 28 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    Republicans are great at avoiding blame in situations they are the direct cause .

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    If you cause the problem, it's easy to have well thought out excuses prepared in advance.

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  • [–] 25 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Trees are woke. Let that sink in.

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  • [–] 32 points 9 months ago
    [–] 20 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Tell 'em propane and charcoal grills are the best way to heat your home in a power outage. That also keeps money out of the woke electric companies hands.

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  • [–] 10 points 9 months ago

    Electricity is such a gay concept. Why would any conservative care for thar?

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  • [–] 9 points 9 months ago

    The extreme nature of the storm is the direct result of climate change, but that's probably too "woke" for them to understand as well.

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  • [–] 16 points 9 months ago*

    Without knowing anything about the issue, I can guarantee Tennessee energy policies are to blame. And if I had to guess, it's probably the fault of favoring "free market" over "reasonable regulation" and consumer protection type policies.

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago

    Fuck, when did late stage capitalism become woke?

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago

    Clearly ICE is to blame here, but reality is too woke, better stay in slumber.

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago

    Oh so Republicans are woke now?

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    Clearly all those gay bars and drag shows used up too much electricity.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    Obviously DEI training isn't to blame.

    But the point about a new tree-trimming policy seems logical at first glance. Does anyone know if it is valid?

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    The complaint about the new tree trimming practices is "valid" in the same way that bitching about renewable energy replacing coal-fired power plants is "valid." The new "species specific pruning" practices are actually better in the sense that they promote the long-term health of the trees instead of indiscriminately butchering them in a straight line with an overgrown hedge trimmer, but giving a shit about that instead of doing everything the cheapest most shortsighted way possible is the ultimate sin, according to these demented assholes.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    But didn't the new tree trimming practices result in some of the trees being too close to the power lines? Doesn't seem to be all that smart of a strategy to me.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Probably not!

    It's not as if the Republican dipshit actually knows anything about the subject. He's just mouthing off with a self-serving post hoc fallacy. In reality, he has no fucking clue whether the pruning was done correctly or not -- and it probably was done correctly, given that the workers hired by the utiilty were actual arborists -- because the mere fact that the power lines fell is not by itself proof of error. It's entirely possible, for example, that the storm was so extreme that no reasonable amount of pruning (i.e. anything short of clear-cutting) would've saved those wires!

    And if the utility had gone "anti-woke" and clear-cut them, he would've just been bitching in bad faith about that instead.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    for example, that the storm was so extreme that no reasonable amount of pruning (i.e. anything short of clear-cutting) would’ve saved those wires!

    Do they not do clear-cutting for power lines there? The high voltage lines all have a minimum distance that has to be clear of trees where I'm from. Otherwise there would be issues every single year, maybe multiple times a year.

    Or is this for residential areas with regular power lines? In that case I'll agree that clear cutting isn't a necessity and we'll just have to accept the occasional freak accident for the sake of maintaining tree canopy in our cities, which is very important, especially in a hot climate where trees provide shade from the scorching sun.

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