As we step into the raw, post pandemic space of asking, “what have we learned and what can we do better?”, corporate DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion also known as D&I or DIB with B for Belonging) programs will inevitably come into the spotlight. Why? To put it bluntly, people will start to ask the question..
It's not DEI, it 's DIE - and it will be the death of a free, normal society. Wokeness is one of the worst mental illnesses possible. It's not really about including others, it's about who they can get away with cancelling in their bid to take over the world...
Really enjoyed this piece, which captures many of my feelings about DEI. I think you nailed it with your distinction between the wish to overcome oppression and have a kinder, fairer and more inclusive society and workplace, and identitarian grievance politics that seeks to punish and make wrong those believed to be associated with oppression.
In progressive politics, there has long been a tension between those who sought to overcome injustice to create a better society for all and those whose goal was to raise up their own group exclusively and to take down their 'enemies'. Gandhi and MLK are representatives of the first group, and although it is in some ways the slower and harder path it is the one that will lead to real and lasting social change IMHO. Where does the other path lead? Either the bid for power is unsuccessful, and there is a loss of goodwill from the dominant class, leading to worse oppression, or it is successful, and the roles are reversed - now the oppressed becomes the oppressor and the cycle continues. Either way, Gandhi said it best: 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.'
Very thoughtful and thought provoking - thank you. It helped me sort through my mixed feelings about the way DEI has been working its way through the work world and beyond. I also appreciate the more nuanced look at the mandates (I was always opposed to them) and the goal of keeping vulnerable people safe.
I looked up our corporate DEI website the other day. Glad I did. Five executives and over 100 staff and “advisors.” That’s not our entire corporate contingent, it’s just for our location alone. Every other location in the corporation is equally or more heavily staffed. I wish I’d grabbed screenshots, because today there’s no sign of that website anywhere. And suddenly, our corporate chatbot has complete amnesia on the topic of DEI. Nothing. It’s a sight to behold. Now what’s going to happen to all that walking dead DEI wood? I want to see them all marched out the front door in a glorious firing ceremony. Note: Your take on the vax mandate and corporate DEI is sentimental garbage. For employees of corporations affiliated with government customers, there were NO "testing options" enabling entry to the workplace. As a rule, religious exemptions were held up in legal while the DEI committees sat on the detailed, heart wrenching applications from the employees containing the mandatory professions of sincere religious faith that no one in a free country should ever have to submit to anyone, not his neighbor, not his boss, and certainly not his DEI committee. Many quit. Some retired. Some just vanished. When the government rescinded the mandates after almost one year, the corporations DID NOT follow suit. Know what they did? They ordered everyone back to work no questions asked. They pretended the mandates never happened. When skeptical employees asked for direction in writing, the corporations simply said "No, we're not going to do that." Any written revocation of the corporate mandates would be an automatic admission of not merely discrimination, but persecution. The vaccine mandates were the Free World's nasty taste of Soviet Style totalitarianism. Never again. Never again!
Wow, In just 2 years from when this was written we have an installed DEI candidate for President, for shhhh... the 'secret' service, and just about everything else. Could things even be crazier now than they were then? Oh, an in CA, if you're an illegal migrant you may get a house for 0 down and 0 interest paid for by taxpayers who had no say in that decisions. Talk about belonging....oy.
It's not DEI, it 's DIE - and it will be the death of a free, normal society. Wokeness is one of the worst mental illnesses possible. It's not really about including others, it's about who they can get away with cancelling in their bid to take over the world...
Yes.. read Gato Malo today re China. I dont see anyone on LinkedIn taking a stand against China
Really enjoyed this piece, which captures many of my feelings about DEI. I think you nailed it with your distinction between the wish to overcome oppression and have a kinder, fairer and more inclusive society and workplace, and identitarian grievance politics that seeks to punish and make wrong those believed to be associated with oppression.
In progressive politics, there has long been a tension between those who sought to overcome injustice to create a better society for all and those whose goal was to raise up their own group exclusively and to take down their 'enemies'. Gandhi and MLK are representatives of the first group, and although it is in some ways the slower and harder path it is the one that will lead to real and lasting social change IMHO. Where does the other path lead? Either the bid for power is unsuccessful, and there is a loss of goodwill from the dominant class, leading to worse oppression, or it is successful, and the roles are reversed - now the oppressed becomes the oppressor and the cycle continues. Either way, Gandhi said it best: 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.'
Thank you. Exactly. It seems like such basic logic - it is a struggle to understand why more people cannot see it.
Very thoughtful and thought provoking - thank you. It helped me sort through my mixed feelings about the way DEI has been working its way through the work world and beyond. I also appreciate the more nuanced look at the mandates (I was always opposed to them) and the goal of keeping vulnerable people safe.
I looked up our corporate DEI website the other day. Glad I did. Five executives and over 100 staff and “advisors.” That’s not our entire corporate contingent, it’s just for our location alone. Every other location in the corporation is equally or more heavily staffed. I wish I’d grabbed screenshots, because today there’s no sign of that website anywhere. And suddenly, our corporate chatbot has complete amnesia on the topic of DEI. Nothing. It’s a sight to behold. Now what’s going to happen to all that walking dead DEI wood? I want to see them all marched out the front door in a glorious firing ceremony. Note: Your take on the vax mandate and corporate DEI is sentimental garbage. For employees of corporations affiliated with government customers, there were NO "testing options" enabling entry to the workplace. As a rule, religious exemptions were held up in legal while the DEI committees sat on the detailed, heart wrenching applications from the employees containing the mandatory professions of sincere religious faith that no one in a free country should ever have to submit to anyone, not his neighbor, not his boss, and certainly not his DEI committee. Many quit. Some retired. Some just vanished. When the government rescinded the mandates after almost one year, the corporations DID NOT follow suit. Know what they did? They ordered everyone back to work no questions asked. They pretended the mandates never happened. When skeptical employees asked for direction in writing, the corporations simply said "No, we're not going to do that." Any written revocation of the corporate mandates would be an automatic admission of not merely discrimination, but persecution. The vaccine mandates were the Free World's nasty taste of Soviet Style totalitarianism. Never again. Never again!
Wow, In just 2 years from when this was written we have an installed DEI candidate for President, for shhhh... the 'secret' service, and just about everything else. Could things even be crazier now than they were then? Oh, an in CA, if you're an illegal migrant you may get a house for 0 down and 0 interest paid for by taxpayers who had no say in that decisions. Talk about belonging....oy.