2025 and the Hopeful Return to Sanity
The sudden mass ditching of toxic DEI policies is not because of Trump or even Poilievre, but because average people have had enough and decided that they're simply not going to take it anymore.
So far, 2025 is shaping up to be a pretty awesome year. With the recent election of Donald Trump south of the border and last week's promised resignation of Justin Trudeau, I've been feeling encouraged after reading the news as of late. I'm admittedly a little bit nervous about all the 51st state talk, but still the news (on the whole) is encouraging. It feels weird even saying that, yet here we are. One reason I'm feeling good about it (aside from the obvious ones) is because much of what's happening now is precisely what I've been predicting for the last two or three years. While I would have much rather had the chance to vote Trudeau out, I'll take this as a win because the likelihood of that party being being able to undo Trudeau's catastrophic departure at this point is about as likely as China suddenly becoming a world leader in the fight against Climate Change™.
The other day, Mark Zuckerberg (of all people) released a five minute video talking about the importance of free speech, how the government forced them to censor posts they didn't like and how Meta is now ditching the fact-checkers, which he says are too politically biased and have “destroyed more trust than they created”. No shit…
Not only that, but Meta will be getting rid of “a bunch of restrictions on topics like immigration and gender” that are “out of touch with mainstream discourse". That's one way to put it. This is how I said it almost two years ago:
the more these stories come out, the more stories will continue to come out. Along with that, the more we hear about parents standing up for their rights and the rights of their kids, the less afraid other parents will be to do the same. Eventually, I believe those in authority will have no choice but to give way to real leaders who will do what we hired them to do, and who will cater to the best interests of their companies, their students, their athletes, and whomever else they are mandated to serve, instead of fringe ideas and screaming mobs.
In regard to these “out of touch” restrictions and content policies, Zuckerberg had this to say:
What started as a movement to be more inclusive, has increasingly been used to shut down opinions, shut out people with different ideas, and it's gone too far.
It's interesting to me that he referred to this as a movement. What he's really talking about here (even though he didn’t say it) is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) movement, which is what Meta is now ditching, along with dozens of other huge corporations.
Evidently he now wants to make sure people can “share their beliefs and experiences" on his platforms. I guess we’ll see how that goes.
Zuckerberg also said they are going to move their Trust and Safety and Content Moderation teams out of California and into Texas. The he said this:
As we work to promote free expression, I think it will help us build trust to do this work in places where there is less concern about the bias of our teams.
Yeah, no joke. Everyone knows (well, everyone except progressives, apparently) that California is one of the worst places in the US for free expression and bias.
So basically, Zuckerberg is now on record saying precisely what those far-right conservative wingnuts have been saying for the last five years.
Well it's about time.
I've heard many people saying it's because Trump is back. That seems a little simplistic to me. I think Trump is just a broader manifestation of the actual reason, which is that these guys like Mark Zuckerberg are finally coming to grips with the way the wind is blowing. Same with all these other companies that are ditching DEI now - they just can no longer deny that Americans (and Canadians as well) are so done with their bullshit. They're gittin' while the gittin's good, as they say.
They're obviously much more worried about the people than they are about Trump, which is how it ought to be.
If you read the news, all these corporations that are currently ditching toxic DEI policies are apparently doing so because of “pressure from far-right conservative activists”. In reality, this backlash is coming from all quarters, not just conservative ones. It is the normal, average citizens that are making their opinions known and that's what's making the difference, in spite of the constant whining from the far-left.
This is far from over, but it's a pretty solid start to the new year. I fully expect there to be much doubling-down from DEI proponents, as well as the climate activists, the gender ideology people, and other authoritarians in our midst, but it seems like we have finally had enough and those shrill voices can now be rightfully relegated to the fringe where they belong.
Every now and then the stillness of my house is shattered by the wonderful sound of Twisted Sister emanating from the bedroom of my sixteen year-old son. I think this sums up the general feeling in this part of the world among all age groups, and so I will close with the immortal words of Dee Snider:
Oh, you're so condescending Your call is never ending We don't want nothin', not a thing from you Your life is trite and jaded Boring and confiscated If that's your best, your best won't do We're not gonna take it No, we ain't gonna take it We're not gonna take it anymore
Happy New Year indeed.
I hope you’re right.
I have been wondering why my Canadian friends are so anti-Poilievre, even the ones who are fed up with Trudeau. It seems to be analogous to “orange man bad” down here but I haven’t seen specific examples about what he’s done that’s so egregious. The NYT did a profile of Poilievre the other day and it didn’t enlighten me either.