Last week, following the election of Donald J. Trump, the AIA’s CEO, Robert Ivy, issued a statement in support of the President-Elect. The statement quickly provoked controversy, with many AIA members rejecting the sentiment and some even leaving the organization. We collected statements, responses, and tweets from architects here.
Later, Mr. Ivy released a response to criticism voiced by Architect Newspaper’s editorial team. Many found the statement equivocal, and not an adequate denouncement of the vitriolic, racist, and sexist rhetoric of the President-Elect.
Yesterday, Mr. Ivy, alongside the 2016 AIA President Russell Davidson, released a video apologizing for the earlier statement. In it, the two leaders of the organization take responsibility for the statement and the uproar it caused.
“Our world changed last Tuesday,” states Mr. Ivy. “Many of us, including me, were shocked and stunned and we’re still grappling with our feelings about what this election means for our country.
Unfortunately, the statement I issued shortly after the results came in was tone deaf and it resulted in heart and anger by too many people. It did not reflect our larger values. I sincerely apologize for that and I hope we can work together as a community to move forward.”
Watch the video in full here:
21 Comments
This is precisely why I left the AIA in the first place. The so called leadership is too cowardly to express an opinion and constantly finds itself rolling over for the biggest bullies in the room.
Those bullies being the progressive Democrats in our profession who espouse only hatred for those of us who think that their personal social agenda has no place in this forum.
lol. you must be new here. damn liberals, expecting people to stop discriminating against others based on race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation, as per the stated rules of the AIA.
i know you just want to hate women, minorities, etc. in peace, without those groups hating back. why can't they just accept that you're a horrible person and move on?
You forgot, Sieg Heil! You always do that before Hair Furor.
two white guys.
I applaud this apology from Robert and Russ. I think they have learned that the *members* of the organization are passionate, and in important matters need to be consulted.
As a Board member of my own local AIA section (as well as Board member of another non-profit) I have watched this whole contretemps unfold and have a better understanding now that even though we are leaders at the board level we really are there to represent the members.
When we recently decided to take a position statement on a local topic, we vetted it through many active members to make sure we weren't mis-speaking. It would have been a good tactic for AIA National to do this as well, and I for one believe this apology shows they have learned that lesson.
PS it makes me laugh at people when they use "progressive" as a denigration. The AIA is better off without you, Regressive Horace, if you don't want to practice in such a way that follows our own Code of Ethics.
Witness the cuckening of the AIA.
Fuck off, alt-right.
Fuck that. Fuck off you fucking Nazi douchecanoe. We're not done with the purge, you're next. You hump.
^Yeah, I hear the outtakes, they directly referenced your words. Directly.
Alt right. So scared of black men they borrowed a word most often found in porn and now use it project their fear of being seen as less endowed on people they see as being "corrupted".
Bunch of limp, tiny dick cowards.
Is it possible anymore to avoid referring to genitals in political discussions?
Good question. I've never tried to avoid it. I've tried (and failed) to avoid political discussions though. I don't claim to hold the rhetorical high ground on this one.
THE CUCKENING! IT'S HAPPENING!!
No, davvid, it isn't. This is what we elected, and the rest of us are following suit. Isn't the president supposed to set an example for all citizens? I'm just doing my civic duty.
no davvid, best politcal speech ever, right here
in a way its fitting a for a consumerist capitalist country to get a spitting image of itself - culture=economy.
Is that what a cuck looks like? (that pic a few posts up?)
No, that is a man who fears being cuckolded. He projects this fear onto others, calling them "cucks" as if it somehow, through aggression, can remove his terror. Meanwhile, the rest of us can smell his racist jowls quiver a mile away.
Did you guys think I was making this up 10 years ago out of thin air?
Obviously Trump is an insecure man. You can see it in his rhetoric and his posturing.
But SneakyPete's comment has that same kind of insecure machismo to it.
Instead of talking about the size or quality of one's genitals, maybe we can stick to things like character, strength, intelligence, sensitivity, compassion, discipline, courage, insight, etc.
Hey, thanks.
The aia has about as much backbone and is as efficient and useful and the league of nations was.
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