Issue #804 The Choice, Tuesday, February 11, 2025
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DEI means EVERYONE, no matter the race, gender, age, military experience, religion (or not), national origin, or sexual orientation. Period.
Throughout American History, white supremacy has been the de facto policy of the land.
In 1789, when the United States Constitution became official, it was written that “citizenship” was valid only for white male property owners. Women, Black people (enslaved or free), indigenous peoples, Jews, and Muslims, all of whom were in America at the time, could not be official citizens.
So, the United States of America has always been “diverse” since its inception, but it took 176 years, from 1789 to 1965, for total citizenship to be granted to all Americans. Several Constitutional amendments, Supreme Court rulings, and scores of new Federal laws had to be implemented for almost all Americans to be considered citizens with all rights and privileges due them.
Even so, a minority of Americans continue to fight for white, Christian, straight male supremacy, as they have since the beginning of this country.
There has been “white backlash” against every policy designed to improve the lives of everyone: civil rights, voting rights, marriage equality, affirmative action, and the election of America’s first and only Black president.
Today, the white supremacists’ new “boogie man” is “DEI,” which stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. They are falling back to their favorite rationales: it’s reverse racism, it’s not “merit-based,” it allows “less qualified” people to take the place of the white people to whom everything in America belongs.
White supremacists and all those who object to DEI initiatives simply believe that any white Christian, straight man is better and more qualified than anyone else.
Even in modern history, there are several examples of this belief:
President George W. Bush was admitted to Yale only because he was a legacy, and he was only a “C” student. That didn’t matter because he was a rich white man.
President Barack H. Obama was a standout undergrad student at Columbia University who graduated in constitutional law from Harvard Law School, where he was also appointed in charge of the Harvard Law Review in a “blind” selection process. But he is considered “less than” George Bush because he is Black.
Donald Trump did so poorly at the Wharton School of Business that he has sued to keep his grades hidden. Before his first presidential election, he had absolutely no government experience. Yet he won the electoral college over former Defense Attorney, former Senator, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He also very narrowly won over former San Francisco District Attorney, former California Attorney General, former Senator, and Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris.
For his Cabinet and diplomatic appointees in his second administration, Trump has nominated people with little or no experience for the positions except loyalty and fealty to him. This is not "merit-based," as Trump et al. want people to believe.
So now, many people, companies, military academies, and government agencies feel empowered to eliminate DEI initiatives. The new Attorney General has also decided to prosecute anyone still using DEI. What are they really for and against?
Diversity (D): Diversity actually means having diverse points of view, diverse experiences, diverse qualifications, and diverse backgrounds, religions, and cultures within companies and organizations. It does not mean "less qualified.” If you are against diversity, you are stating that only the contributions of white, Christian, straight males will count, and no one else is qualified or wanted.
Equity (E): Equity actually means “equal opportunity,” not "less qualified.” White supremacists believe that even if all things are equal, any position belongs to them, not to anyone else. It just so happens that most of the time, non-white, non-male people have to be more qualified than their white counterparts even to be considered for a position. If you are against equity, you are stating that only white, Christian, straight males should be hired or appointed, and no one else is wanted.
Inclusion (I): Inclusion actually means what it says: including everyone: women, veterans, the disabled, non-whites and non-Christians, LGBTQA+. Everyone should be included in all positions, all leadership levels, and all decisions. If you are against inclusion, you are again stating that only the contributions of white, Christian, straight males will count, and no one else is qualified, wanted, or needed.
“DEI” hits differently when the definition of each letter is spelled out clearly and succinctly.
So, you have a Choice: You either stand for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for ALL, or you stand for white, Christian, straight, male supremacy ONLY.
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Pamela, the photo at the top of your post is so beautiful -- brings tears to my eyes. Such a shame that you need to spell out each meaning of D E I to those who can only see 'less than.' Little do they realize that less than means not acknowledging the goodness and power inside each of us. Actually, I feel sorry for them.