Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a raging fire. Like fire, DEI is spreading, consuming, and (dare I say) destroying everything in its wake. It’s way past time to put out DEI’s fires of destruction.
People expected healthier, more productive, and positive work environments, but the current DEI implementation has become a negative and destructive force. The recent resignation of Harvard University President Claudine Gay has opened many eyes to DEI’s treacherous footing.
Ms. Gay’s effective demotion at Harvard is just one recent and well-publicized example of DEI’s failure. Notably, compared to past Harvard University presidents, Ms. Gay’s tenure was the shortest and most troublesome. Scrutiny of Ms. Gay began with her appalling congressional testimony; weak, inappropriate responses that seemingly acquiesced to “woke” anti-Semitic acts and deeds (on Harvard’s campuses) precipitated her downfall.
During congressional testimony about the trend of rising anti-Semitism on college campuses, Ms. Gay, along with college presidents at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania, responded with unconscionable prevarications. Their testimonies were infamously cowardly.
Instead of wholly denouncing all forms of anti-Semitism and hateful acts targeting Jews (including “calling for the genocide of Jews”) as violations of their campuses’ codes of conduct, these three college presidents equivocated in seeming deference toward anti-Semites. Since her congressional testimony, Ms. Gay has been under a veritable microscope; many scandals have now been uncovered, pointing to instances of grotesque incompetence and plagiarism.
These are major disqualifying characteristics for college presidents, but they are readily overlooked when “equity” becomes the preeminent criterion instead of bedrock business principles undergirded by merit.
Ms. Gay’s tenure as Harvard president was scandalous and brief for several reasons, the most obvious being that she was simply unqualified. Compared to past presidents who achieved as scholars and were frequently published, She has not published any books and has only authored a few articles. A “slim” resume with comparatively marginal accomplishments does not meet the level of sterling competence required to run a multibillion-dollar enterprise.
Yes, Harvard University is a notable multibillion-dollar business. Plagued by charges of plagiarism and scant accomplishments, she sadly shows what happens when hiring is based purely on “equity” and not merit.
The hiring of Ms. Gay was unfair to her and Harvard. Elevating her as a “diversity hire” helped no one. Hiring solely to achieve “diversity” is racist and undignified, as it draws blacks into positions for which they are underqualified. No one wants to be considered a “diversity hire.”
Regrettably, she and her supporters are paying the price for enshrining mediocrity. In communist countries such as China, promotions to achieve political ends are common and breed slothful mediocrity. Political favor should never take preeminence in the United States over merit-based competence.
The DEI global rampage is producing erosion of merit and core competencies by de-emphasizing them. Ethnicity/race, sex/gender, and myriad other political criteria have taken precedence for hiring decisions and for downsizing or replacing personnel.
Chaos has resulted in workforces, work groups, and communities. Disunity, division, distrust, and any number of disruptions related to DEI initiatives have made many businesses and various industries less productive and, therefore, less competitive. This is good news for globalist communists and Marxists seeking to encourage all nations to enter the “great reset.” But for everyday Americans who enjoy free markets, competition, and economic progress based on capitalist successes, DEI’s social conditioning toward a globalist communist mindset is distressing.
In critical times, there is no justification for lowering work ethic, competence, rigor, and excellence standards. Global economic insecurity is massively disrupting every domain (including education); therefore, people need to increase competency standards and focus on merit.
People must realize that DEI is not altruistic and aims to produce mediocrity and failure. Its fundamentals and premises guarantee its failure. Rooted in centuries-old Marxist theories that undermine “content of character” and meritocracy, DEI demands equal outcomes regardless of people’s skills and competencies. Communist nations flounder and struggle with poverty and waste using those ideas.
The DEI premise could perhaps work as an “equalizer” for vast robot populations having unequal outcomes. But since humans are dynamic entities with different and diverse God-given skills, talents, and abilities, outcome-based DEI objectives end up being cruel and racist.
Because humans are unique and have differing competencies based on a range of factors, including varying levels of education, environment, experiences, and so forth, it is cruel to knowingly hire people with marginal skills and then expect them to perform like masters. As with Ms. Gay, ultimately, the demonstrable lack of competency becomes evident, and the person hired is faced with the cruel reality of being exposed as incompetent. That result leads to the embarrassment of job separation because of the inability to perform duties, and harmed people feel exploited.
Since Marxist theory enshrines ideas of human beings evolving at various rates and stages (over time), it posits that ethnicities have innately different capacities (based on Darwin’s theory of evolution). Focusing on “equity” (equal outcomes irrespective of skills and abilities), DEI principles assert that blacks are innately incapable of competing and achieving; therefore, “equity” is needed to elevate them.
Such a mindset is racist and exploitative. Blacks have endured slavery and myriad disparate treatments in the United States and abroad. Despite these travesties, they have proven the ability to compete with endurance and resiliency and have achieved remarkable success.
Contrary to the presumptions of DEI, blacks are not innately inferior. They are fully equipped to compete at any level. While Ms. Gay and her supporters shrilly complain about her loss of position as overt racism, the actual overt racism derives from the root of Marxist principles within DEI itself!
In essence, we are witnessing people being agitated and suffering because their own blindness betrays them. This syndrome is called betrayal blindness. My recent book, “DEI in 3D,” summarizes “betrayal blindness” as the unawareness, not knowing, or convenient (purposeful) forgetting leading to personal betrayal. It is now prominent in culture; therefore, this blindness (and personal betrayal) extends to inequities in the workplace and society.
Here’s the scenario. People align with Marxism, knowing full well that Marx/Marxism and all of its accouterments are racist and unprincipled. They have formed an alliance with the Marxist worldview while subconsciously realizing that alliance betrays their own conscience and fundamental beliefs. They then become unable or unwilling to see how the alliance betrays them.
Unlike those who think logically and in a principled manner, individuals experiencing betrayal blindness tend to avoid information or cues that suggest that their alliance has betrayed them, or they may downplay or dismiss any evidence of that betrayal. In other words, a person undergoing betrayal blindness, in an effort to maintain relationships within their respective institutions and social systems (or culture) upon which they depend, will make human memory vulnerable to suggestion and distortion.
In practice, while knowing that hiring, promoting, or firing people based strictly on ethnicity or race is illegal and unethical, many will betray their morals and federal or state labor laws in order to serve their alliance with DEI and Marxism.
Notable people of influence engage in betrayal blindness (consciously or unconsciously) to support racist and Marxist tactics that actually undermine their internal personal beliefs, morals, values, and conscience. Through betrayal blindness, people can develop traitorous instincts toward themselves (self-deceptions) while fully cooperating with their true enemy (e.g., racism/Marxism).
Ms. Gay’s sad example of DEI’s grotesque failure will hopefully pave the way for a renewed desire toward the Rev. Martin Luther King’s uplifting call to focus on the “content of character.” Her downfall should help to renew society’s emphasis on meritocracy, competence, and excellence.
Unless we desire to drag workplaces into endless cycles of “diversity hires” and “diversity fires” (i.e., perpetual disunity and terminations), embers of DEI that burn within workplaces must be fully extinguished. This means wholly rejecting DEI and its cruel and racist underpinnings.
Going forward, complete rejection of existing DEI principles and abusive nomenclature is the only way to restore our collective human dignity and worth.
