How women feel when powerful white, male nonprofit leaders bully them
Sandy Perry is the president of the Affordable Housing Network of Santa Clara County and was a leader of the recent invasion of the offices of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors. In a recent op-ed, which exposed his organization's coercive politics and jejune policy ideas, he attempted to shrug off community disapproval of his storming the SCCAOR offices by characterizing the trespass as "nonviolent." Before dismissing community concerns, Perry might consider the lived experience of women, such as SCCAOR employee Jodee Sousa, when powerful white men like him overrun her workspace and bully her and her colleagues. An excerpt from Sousa's letter to City Council follows.
My name is Jodee Sousa, and I am a PROUD SCCAOR Employee and I deserve to have MY voice heard, as a victim of what happened at my office last Wednesday. I was taunted, demoralized, terrorized, traumatized, gas-lit, laughed at, mocked, and lied to, all because the organization I have LOVED working with for 5 years, was made a target of flat-out hate. Once those people entered our building, it became very personal, and their message no longer had meaning. No cause, measure, or political policy is EVER worth making someone feel unsafe.
On Wednesday, I was called racist, a liar, greedy, and told I had a part in the murder, killing, and loss of life to the homeless and that I do not care about any of it.
I guess none of [the good work that SCCOAR does] matters when it comes to politics - people are fed information according to an agenda that will cause their groups to win - sounds like a win at any cost, and screw the collateral damage... right?
I am that damage. ME.
A few things that haunt me still today…
Hearing the woman on the bullhorn laughing, saying "Now this is just fun". Seriously?? FUN? Nice.
Hearing the chant "SCCAOR doesn't care" over and over and over.
I was cornered and filmed by the girl in blue (carrying a sign with a photo of homeless people under a freeway, that isn't in San Jose BTW) in my office while I was calling 911 because the protest was no longer peaceful and they REFUSED to leave. Then she continued to film and interrogated me about why I called the police when I left my office
Hearing the man named Sandy say "This is our new target - this is where we will come from now on to protest, this is our spot" a flat-out threat. Will they be back? Do I need to worry? Am I safe? Is this all just chest puffing? I don't know, because I don't know any of these people and clearly they have no problem crossing the lines.
And for anyone who wants to question or challenge what I said, I am happy to share my video taken that day. And, you can also review the video the protesters took to see their actions and words of hate and decide if that’s truly how you want those who are representing your agenda/view/opinions to act to get your point across… at any and all costs, no matter what.
For the full video of Ms. Sousa and past presidents of SCCAOR reading her comments at City Council, see here. {Starts at: 2:39:40}
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