This is an odd one because you’re saying the problem with DIE (clever) initiatives is that they are so extremely inclusive and tolerant (“that no matter who you are, or what you believe, you are welcome and your opinions are valid.”) that they tolerate views and ideas that shouldn’t be tolerated, but at the bottom of the page are several suggested past articles by none other than yourself of which the thesis is the exact opposite - that DEI (sorry, DIE) is so EXclusive and INtolerant of certain views and ideas that it is akin to fascism.
The reason you're head is spinning is because the "tolerance" of DEI is not tolerance. The way these words are used don't make any sense at all. That's why these conversations are almost impossible to have.
I think these conversations are impossible to have because you're trying connect dots that aren't really connected, but you'll stretch anything to connect them.
The issue is huge. It's not just one "dot". There's been a cultural shift. It's how we talk about things. It's how we define words that are used every day (even "woman" is now ambiguous). DEI is part of that shift, with its focus on "anti-racism". Because now if I say I'm not racist, according to anti-racism dogma, I'm just confirming that I actually am. Has any of this really made our lives better? That's very debatable.
It’s hard to explain, but it’s a bit like being in a room with someone who’s talking on the phone and I’m hearing just one side of the conversation. I don’t spend time on Twitter, or Facebook. “DEI” is not something that affects me in any way, nobody I’ve ever spoken to has overly negative experiences with it, other than finding it a bit annoying. I just hear the part about how oppressed conservatives feel and how our culture and society is being destroyed by this stuff, but I never get to see any of the oppression or destruction.
You say that if you claim you’re not a racist, this makes you a racist. I just don’t believe that’s a real thing. How can your experience of these things be so different from mine? I really can’t believe canada is so wildly different that you’re eing being called a racists out of nowhere for simply stating you’re not a racist.
You wrote about how there was some DEI ‘trainer’ who got exposed as a narcissistic bully. Okay, that sucks.
If there was a fire safety trainer that got exposed as a pyromaniac (not uncommon), would that mean we should abolish all fire safety training? That fire safety training is oppressing us and destroying our society?
All this stuff has very “old man shakes fist at clouds” vibes. “This country’s going to hell, etc etc”
From two of the most prominent and best-selling authors (you might say, "prophets") of the current DEI movement:
"I believe that white progressives cause the most daily damage to people of color. I define a white progressive as any white person who thinks he or she is not racist, or is less racist, or in the 'choir,' or already 'gets it.' White progressives can be the most difficult for people of color because, to the degree that we think we have arrived, we will put our energy into making sure that others see us as having arrived. None of our energy will go into what we need to be doing for the rest of our lives: engaging in ongoing self-awareness, continuing education, relationship building, and actual antiracist practice. White progressives do indeed uphold and perpetrate racism, but our defensiveness and certitude make it virtually impossible to explain to us how we do so."
"However, I hope to have made clear that white supremacy is something much more pervasive and subtle than the actions of explicit white nationalists. White supremacy describes the culture we live in, a culture that positions white people and all that is associated with them (whiteness) as ideal. White supremacy is more than the idea that whites are superior to people of color; it is the deeper premise that supports this idea—the definition of whites as the norm or standard for human, and people of color as a deviation from that norm."
- Robin DiAngelo - White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
"What’s the problem with being 'not racist'? It is a claim that signifies neutrality: 'I am not a racist, but neither am I aggressively against racism.' But there is no neutrality in the racism struggle. The opposite of 'racist' isn’t 'not racist.' It is 'antiracist.'"
Ibram X. Kendi - How to Be an Antiracist
Couple this with our own government's assertion that "Discrimination against Black people is deeply entrenched and normalized in Canadian institutions," and it's just a constant drip of: "You have no idea how racist you really are!"
All this is spite of the fact that Canada regularly rates as one on the least racist countries on the planet.
I read about an old study where they got a large group of black students and gave them standardized tests. One group was tested just BEFORE Barack Obama was elected POTUS in 2008, and one group just AFTER he was elected. There was a marked improvement in academic performance among the black kids after a black man was elected to the White House. It turns out this is a well-studied phenomenon. If you get a bunch of white kids and measure how high they can jump, then you do it again but tell them that, this time, they will be compared with a group of black kids, the white kids will perform worse when they think they're competing with the black kids. Same with girls and math - they’ll perform worse when you tell them they’re competing with boys.
This means that prejudice is internal. We carry those stereotypes with us, even when they reflect negatively on the group we belong to. This goes a long way to explaining how racism and race inequality persists, especially in a place like America. There’s nothing wrong with recognizing and being aware of this. I think it’s clear that this is precisely what Robin DiAngelo is talking about here. It’salso very similar to things Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used to say.
I’m about as white as they come and I cannot imagine how one could feel victimized by what these people are saying. If you think you’re being attacked specifically because you’re a white person, I don’t know what to tell you, perhaps you’re just determined to feel victimized.
The fact that Canada ranks as one of the least racist places doesn’t make any of those statements false.
This is an odd one because you’re saying the problem with DIE (clever) initiatives is that they are so extremely inclusive and tolerant (“that no matter who you are, or what you believe, you are welcome and your opinions are valid.”) that they tolerate views and ideas that shouldn’t be tolerated, but at the bottom of the page are several suggested past articles by none other than yourself of which the thesis is the exact opposite - that DEI (sorry, DIE) is so EXclusive and INtolerant of certain views and ideas that it is akin to fascism.
My head is spinning.
The reason you're head is spinning is because the "tolerance" of DEI is not tolerance. The way these words are used don't make any sense at all. That's why these conversations are almost impossible to have.
I think these conversations are impossible to have because you're trying connect dots that aren't really connected, but you'll stretch anything to connect them.
The issue is huge. It's not just one "dot". There's been a cultural shift. It's how we talk about things. It's how we define words that are used every day (even "woman" is now ambiguous). DEI is part of that shift, with its focus on "anti-racism". Because now if I say I'm not racist, according to anti-racism dogma, I'm just confirming that I actually am. Has any of this really made our lives better? That's very debatable.
It’s hard to explain, but it’s a bit like being in a room with someone who’s talking on the phone and I’m hearing just one side of the conversation. I don’t spend time on Twitter, or Facebook. “DEI” is not something that affects me in any way, nobody I’ve ever spoken to has overly negative experiences with it, other than finding it a bit annoying. I just hear the part about how oppressed conservatives feel and how our culture and society is being destroyed by this stuff, but I never get to see any of the oppression or destruction.
You say that if you claim you’re not a racist, this makes you a racist. I just don’t believe that’s a real thing. How can your experience of these things be so different from mine? I really can’t believe canada is so wildly different that you’re eing being called a racists out of nowhere for simply stating you’re not a racist.
You wrote about how there was some DEI ‘trainer’ who got exposed as a narcissistic bully. Okay, that sucks.
If there was a fire safety trainer that got exposed as a pyromaniac (not uncommon), would that mean we should abolish all fire safety training? That fire safety training is oppressing us and destroying our society?
All this stuff has very “old man shakes fist at clouds” vibes. “This country’s going to hell, etc etc”
From two of the most prominent and best-selling authors (you might say, "prophets") of the current DEI movement:
"I believe that white progressives cause the most daily damage to people of color. I define a white progressive as any white person who thinks he or she is not racist, or is less racist, or in the 'choir,' or already 'gets it.' White progressives can be the most difficult for people of color because, to the degree that we think we have arrived, we will put our energy into making sure that others see us as having arrived. None of our energy will go into what we need to be doing for the rest of our lives: engaging in ongoing self-awareness, continuing education, relationship building, and actual antiracist practice. White progressives do indeed uphold and perpetrate racism, but our defensiveness and certitude make it virtually impossible to explain to us how we do so."
"However, I hope to have made clear that white supremacy is something much more pervasive and subtle than the actions of explicit white nationalists. White supremacy describes the culture we live in, a culture that positions white people and all that is associated with them (whiteness) as ideal. White supremacy is more than the idea that whites are superior to people of color; it is the deeper premise that supports this idea—the definition of whites as the norm or standard for human, and people of color as a deviation from that norm."
- Robin DiAngelo - White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
"What’s the problem with being 'not racist'? It is a claim that signifies neutrality: 'I am not a racist, but neither am I aggressively against racism.' But there is no neutrality in the racism struggle. The opposite of 'racist' isn’t 'not racist.' It is 'antiracist.'"
Ibram X. Kendi - How to Be an Antiracist
Couple this with our own government's assertion that "Discrimination against Black people is deeply entrenched and normalized in Canadian institutions," and it's just a constant drip of: "You have no idea how racist you really are!"
All this is spite of the fact that Canada regularly rates as one on the least racist countries on the planet.
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/what-determines-health/social-determinants-inequities-black-canadians-snapshot.html
I read about an old study where they got a large group of black students and gave them standardized tests. One group was tested just BEFORE Barack Obama was elected POTUS in 2008, and one group just AFTER he was elected. There was a marked improvement in academic performance among the black kids after a black man was elected to the White House. It turns out this is a well-studied phenomenon. If you get a bunch of white kids and measure how high they can jump, then you do it again but tell them that, this time, they will be compared with a group of black kids, the white kids will perform worse when they think they're competing with the black kids. Same with girls and math - they’ll perform worse when you tell them they’re competing with boys.
This means that prejudice is internal. We carry those stereotypes with us, even when they reflect negatively on the group we belong to. This goes a long way to explaining how racism and race inequality persists, especially in a place like America. There’s nothing wrong with recognizing and being aware of this. I think it’s clear that this is precisely what Robin DiAngelo is talking about here. It’salso very similar to things Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used to say.
I’m about as white as they come and I cannot imagine how one could feel victimized by what these people are saying. If you think you’re being attacked specifically because you’re a white person, I don’t know what to tell you, perhaps you’re just determined to feel victimized.
The fact that Canada ranks as one of the least racist places doesn’t make any of those statements false.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40063382