Commentary
For many years, and accelerating since the Black Lives Matter riots, “diversity” has been a buzzword, a demand, a goal, and an obsession of government, business, religion, and almost every organization in America.I’m a computer scientist. I haven’t been able to open a single engineering or science journal in the past two years without seeing multiple articles about diversity. Many issues of these magazines are devoted entirely to diversity rather than, for example, scientific research or engineering accomplishments.
In years past, such bigotry was disguised and discussed quietly in private. Now, these bigots are public, loud, and given credibility and acknowledgment by international associations.
Diversity is currently defined by society as diversity of skin color, sexual behavior, and gender identity. In the days of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, we demanded a “color-blind society.” Now, we demand a “color-divided society.” What would Martin Luther King Jr. think of all this? He dreamed that his children would one day “live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” And yet, these days we seem to judge people solely by the color of their skin in addition to their sexual behaviors and gender identity. Would King approve? I think clearly he would not. But probably the “woke” include him among the immoral old leaders whose statues they topple and whose “old-white-men” philosophies they disdain.
So why are all these diversity efforts not just failing, but actually exacerbating the problem? The answer is simple. Most people know the answer, but few are willing to say it publicly. But I’ll say it here. As our society emphasizes our differences and places us into groups of oppressors and oppressed, resentment is growing. People see those in other groups getting special privileges and accommodations, and they want those privileges and accommodations, too.
Our nation’s diversity efforts are causing competition for resources. And they’re causing resentment. This is human nature. That other group is getting attention, money, and special privileges, why shouldn’t my group? And if I don’t belong to a victimized group, I’ll create one.
I feel these ugly emotions inside me, and I consider myself a good person who would never purposely discriminate against a person because of their innate and immutable characteristics. I’m certain that others feel this way too. Since I was young, I was taught to respect all people equally. Yet today, I see a person of color and immediately wonder if that person is qualified for their job or got there through affirmative action. I worry that if I “misgender” a person, even as an honest mistake, I could lose my job. If I “misappropriate” someone’s culture by ... I don’t even know ... ordering Mexican food or wearing the jacket I bought in Tijuana, then I will be accused and ostracized.
I continually question people’s sexuality in my mind so that I know whether I must avoid interaction or risk being accused of bias. In fact, I find myself associating less and less with people outside my own group for fear that an unintentional “racist” or “phobic” interaction could negatively affect the rest of my life.
My reactions are those of a mainstream individual. On the other hand, extremists respond to this favoritism with hatred and violence. Most people respond by demanding their own share of what I will call the spoils of victimhood.
One can easily decide to belong to a particular group these days or to create one. I’m a Jew, suddenly considered by woke agitators as part of the white patriarchy despite millennia of persecution and death from other groups that actually held power in various societies. So it’s understandable that Jews, too, would demand a piece of the attention and the spoils of victimhood.
What do these slogans accomplish? Will a mainstream non-Jewish person look at them and think, “I used to hate Jews, but now because of a snappy phrase, I see that they’re OK”? Or “I was going to yell at a Jew today, but that sign made me rethink my whole attitude toward them”? These possible reactions sound as silly as the billboard slogans themselves. What they will accomplish, though, are two things, one intended and one not.
The intended consequence is that it drives a message to those in power that Jews, too, need to be a protected group in competition for funds from blacks, Asians, Hispanics, LGBT, and others. It drives a message that Jews are victims and that Jews need protection and that Jews deserve privileges and support like other groups. In other words, it promotes the creation of yet another protected victim group in competition with all the others.
The unintended consequence is that extremists who already hate Jews and are willing to use violence against them will see these billboards as reinforcing their belief that Jews are different, they are powerful, have money and power, and think they deserve special treatment. These billboards actually drive anti-Semitism rather than defeat it.
Let me be clear. There’s definitely racism, antisemitism, and other forms of group hate in our nation; it’s increasing and needs to be stopped. But the solution isn’t to further divide people into victim groups. The solution isn’t to compensate certain groups for past, perceived, and even real incidents of hatred. The solution isn’t to create a victimhood Olympics with each group competing for the most attention and reparations.
The solution to reducing hate crimes is simple. Stop emphasizing our differences. Stop dividing people into groups and assigning them behaviors based on those groups. Not all white people are oppressors. Not all black people are victims. Not all Jews are rich and powerful. Not all Hispanics are illegal. Not all gay people are good and worthy of respect.
Stop telling kids that a white person can’t be a role model for a black person, or a man can’t be a role model for a woman, or that someone outside your group can’t be your role model. I’m a white male. As a kid, two brilliant female math teachers encouraged me to pursue math, science, and engineering. I dreamed of meeting and training with Bruce Lee. Sidney Poitier was my vision of an educated gentleman. And my goal was to obtain not one, but two Nobel Prizes like Marie Curie.
Our irrational emphasis on diversity is creating the problem that it’s intended to eliminate. Instead, let us try to enact the color-blind society envisioned by Martin Luther King and strive to live up to the philosophy inscribed in our Declaration of Independence that all people are created equal and should be treated equally.
