Isn't DEI just a request for fairness?
Opposing DEI for less than noble reasons
By Frank
The current administration recently fired six Pentagon officials, including a person of color and a woman, emphasizing in the announcement that it was the result of the contemporary focus on diversity and inclusion. Diversity, equity and inclusion was meant to be a focus on fairness in the workplace. It is now a pejorative to many.
The widely-held perception is that these layoffs were driven by politics, which seem almost uncontestable except for those who are blindly loyal to the current president.
The implication, barely concealed if at all, is that anyone in a prominent position who is a person of color, or female, or not heterosexual, was only hired to fill a quota, not due to their own qualifications. There is no gentle way of saying this: that viewpoint is driven purely by racism, sexism, homophobia and/or an inherent self-doubt (or all of the above). If you are someone who believes in a just nation, and are confident in your own abilities, why would you begrudge others who may not resemble you a fair chance at the same opportunities?
I am old enough to remember when nearly all positions of authority were held by white men, likely Protestant, straight, and largely traditional in world view. Persons of color and woman had a much narrower career ladder than others. And, if you were not straight, you hid it. Was that a just America, one based on the premise that all are created equal? No, it was an old boys club, reserved for some, excluding others. If you were a white male, sure, that made for less competition, but was it fair?
Anyone with even a modicum of knowledge of history will understand that at one time in this country overt bigotry against the Irish, Italians, Germans, Asians and Jews (and many others) was overt (“No Irish Need Apply” job postings an infamous example of that).
I am sure there are persons of color and/or women who are in positions they are not qualified for, hired for performative or political, not noble, reasons. I am equally confident, however, that there are many white men in positions they would not have been hired for if they didn’t closely resemble those who hired them.
There are those who will outright stake the claim in their belief in white superiority, others will cloak that view, falsely, in claiming the country has reached a point where we no longer hold such prejudices. Despite what some want us to believe, prejudices still exist. They always will. What DEI is asking is to make the playing field a bit less unequal. To admit what should be obvious and trying to right a wrong.
I believe in an America that admits it is not perfect but strives to be, a country that is based on equal opportunity for all. A nation that accepts the fact that there are those who may not resemble ourselves, but who are well=qualified to hold positions of prominence, without denigrating their abilities. I really want to believe we can be that country, despite current events.
About the author: Who wants to know?
Attaboy, Frank. Tell it like it is.