Normalizing spelling out what people actually mean when they cite DEI rather than letting them hide behind the safe cover of a euphemism that's been sapped of meaning
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100% Also we should stop 🛑 letting cons say that “woke” is bad. We need to call it what it is. Simply caring about and respecting the other-it’s about following Christian doctrine. Even when their sexuality, gender, politics, or religion does not match ours.
This is a bit tangential to your larger point, but we literally lack understood definitions, let alone shared definitions. When I taught students, the lawyer in me was always pushing them to define not just DEI but “capitalism.” It’s all vibes now.
💯agreed. Pin them down. Make them define it precisely. Currently, it means whatever "scary" thing they & their audience can imagine (e.g. Black & other folks of color, trans people, immigrants, climate stewardship, women's rights, actual religious freedom+++)
What’s extra crazy is DEI programs are very popular and removing DEI programs is very unpopular according to polls. So yes it’s just a shield to hide behind instead when being racist/sexist
And they do it in plan sight! Chris Rufo tweets "Hey everyone just fyi I'm about to start weaponizing a perfectly innocuous word in order to further my extreme rightwing agenda!" and the media just goes "Okeydoke, carry on!"
Because they know there are a lot of ignorant white people who have failed at life and their ego won’t allow them to accept it’s their own fault so they need scapegoates.
Right wing politicians have been doing this for generations
Not necessarily "their own fault" 🤷♀️
They were born poor but are lacking race/gender/class conscience to understand rich powerful handsome successful and famous doesn't come with white cis male.
I'm a little bit tired, but I hope this makes some sense
It worked with entitlements and benefits always associatinh them with undeserved and fraud until people automatically hear that when they aren't said until everyone thinks they are negative rather than life saving and earned.
I dont understand why we get articles with headlines like "Trump, Without Citing Evidence, Blames D.E.I. and Democrats for Plane Crash" instead of" - "Trump lies and makes racists remarks about plane crash"
Same deal as meritocracy. When republicans talk about "meritocracy" they don't mean "best man for the job"
They mean minorities are inferior to whites and so "meritocracy" means "put a white person in that role"
Every time a republican uses the term DEI - reporters should ask them what it stands for! DEI sounds like an evil government agency - diversity, equality, and inclusiveness sounds like common sense.
It's mostly all about bigotry. That is America now. Full of racists, homophobes, xenophobes, misogynists, and greed. It's utterly toxic. It WILL implode.
I’m gonna work to make sure I don’t come across as if I’m trying to take down our champions.
So what Mina said 👆🏽
AND 👇🏽
Normalize confronting the non-threatening looking-well-intentioned-white person, who “gets along with everyone” with the reality of what their strategy is 👇🏽
To be clear, Trump said what he meant, slamming hiring programs that seek people with disabilities, and conflating their hiring to work at a large government agency (in numerous capacities) with air traffic control. He put the A back into DEIA, in case anyone thought he might not get around to that.
DEI represents women, LGBQT community, POC, disabled and different faiths
The message is basically racist, misogynistic and homophobic that the only people left who have rights and status are straight, white Christian men. Is this group the only ones that are employed
I had this once last year when someone asked me, "What happened to hiring on merit?" And I snapped back, "Who said the ones being hired are less worthy?"
The bias is theirs for presuming that people who don't look like them are worse in nature - and they should have to express they believe that.
Literally just had this conversation with a coworker today. Told him that companies aren't hiring unqualified people just because they fit a certain demographic. They people still need to be qualified to do the job.
DEI is largely about the recruiting part of the hiring process. It's about making sure people from every background are considered and given interviews.
You really think they’re afraid? Plenty of them are out here doing the Nazi salute and the press won’t even call it by its name. You think these Nazis will shrink from using the N and R words?
Our side needs our own fun acronym to describe all the chuds being confirmed right now because merit is definitely not what got them through the door 😂😂. But seriously, we need to fight back because they won by shouting their propaganda like this and the big media sits back now.
The same people these explanations work on are the same people who lack the frontal lobe required to distinguish a nazi salute when they see one.
If they want an example of what they would be upset about from their own side, if we did it, look no further than Carlson's son getting a press sec gig.
The real reason DEI is hates isn't because it gets incompetent people into positions of authority. Trump alone is an example of that. DEI is hated because it's a direct attack on the foundations of the old boys club that has ruled the country for generations.
What they mean but won’t say is that getting more underrepresented groups to apply for jobs somehow is lowering standards. And that they just assume that the “best qualified” will be White and most likely male.
Republicans say they oppose DEI because it's discrimination, but they also support repealing anti discrimination rules. It's not supposed to make sense. In reality, people who support a meritocracy should support DEI.
It’s the Lee Atwater racism abstraction taken to an nth level. Everyone in America should really listen to Atwater’s (Reagan’s campaign manager and attack dog) i
talk on this.
Thank you for mentioning this, Mina. (I want to make a point of appreciation when people with wider platforms beyond politics make insightful comments about it. I think it can only be helpful)
When Trump's acolytes start saying things like "woke" or "DEI" you know deep down there are words they really want to say but that would give their whole game away. Some of them are starting to feel comfortable enough though to show just how horrible they really are
One thing that keeps coming to my mind is that Jackie Robinson was a DEI hire. So was Marion Motley. Phyllis George was a DEI hire. By their very definition, they added much needed diversity to areas of American life. Their inclusion made us a better nation.
Please see @austinchanning.bsky.social post on Substack “ DEI oh my” for a thorough, thoughtful review of the obliteration of centuries’ worth of work and pride.
I've seen no evidence Trump knows what the acronym means besides "I can use it as a stand-in until it's fine for me to use the word I really want to out loud"
They only ever offer examples, like the game show where one player names things in a category and the other tries to guess the name of the category, and the only guess that fits is “they aren’t straight cis white men” but they keep saying no and listing more examples (that still fit that category)
I think most know what they THINK the are “afraid of” but actually just repeat empty slogans, revealing deep ignorance of what it actually is: simply ourstorical accuracy … and ENSURING ALL qualified ppl get hired, accepted to schools, teams, neighborhoods, medical service…
Wanted to reply with this. Ask anyone that hates "woke" to define it. They won't because then they have to say things that would make them so obviously racist/sexist/transphobic that they wouldn't even want to say it. So, they just hide behind the term "woke"/
The Exec. Orders actually specify termination of DEI and A.
What about Diversity is a problem for you personally? What about Equity is a problem for you personally? What about Inclusion is a problem for you personally? What about Accessibility is a problem for you personally?
It doesn't mean or favor who Republicans/racists think it does. There are many minority groups who were overlooked before diversity and inclusion were mandatory policies.
White women, disabled, veterans, LGBTQ, Hispanic, Asian, Native Americans, BIPOC etc. are/were all considered minorities.
And of course, the President blames DEI for the crash, even though no crashes during the Biden administration. He is Unable to have solutions, only can blame and lie that is it everyone else's fault. Like a toddler not even close to a leader.
People act like all Pilots, all Doctors, all Lawyers all air traffic controllers do not have to pass exams to be licensed. It is the most ridiculous nonsense I’ve ever heard.
Mina, if I may, I could not be a bigger admirer of you. Your work is excellent and insightful and I just could not be more impressed at how you move through this time. Thanks.
I remember a former frat boy was at whining about how we (USofC) would "probably be forced to hire a gay black woman" as our next school president. We hired a white another white guy of course.
He said our name wrong at the graduation ceremony and quit within a year
When I hear people say "DEI", they believe they are sounding smart. But I know that it means they are either prejudice or just stupid. The original DEI and only DEI in this country, is white men. They get the benefit of the doubt just by being white
They did the same thing with "critical race theory," and now just about everyone seems to be using the term the way they misused it. They won the definition fight, and that's halfway to winning any argument.
Exactly! When DEI is done well it expands the talent pool by acknowledging there were inherent biases in previous hiring and promotion practices. Biases that don’t predict if someone will be great at the job (eg they are a white male). Eliminate those biases and performance improves.
This is an excellent chance for the media and Dems to call this idiocy out for what it really is. They won't act on that chance, but they absolutely need to.
They hide behind it because they know that they can get away with it. The country was built for and by white cisgender straight men to exploit anybody that aren't those things. This is just a return to form for them, with their false beliefs that their lives will get better if the get more...
I'm not a confrontational person, so I find that playing dumb and asking what something means has created some awkward situations for others. In one case, it got someone to rethink their position.
You are correct, Sir. It will take just one tenacious reporter at the right time to ask the right question; the question that will cause one of these people to verbally vomit the vile they have in their hearts. I wish I had gone into journalism.
"Senator, is it your position that the Potomac crash was due to the FAA hiring too many women and/or racial minorities?
If so, can you please specify – in detail and at length – why you believe they're categorically inferior to white men, despite endless amounts of evidence to the contrary?"
Sapped of meaning you say? Why coming right up! #blamedei The terrorist organization known as D.E.I is the Trump admin's highest priority! They are responsible for everything bad that happens the next four years!
We had the richest man in the world give two Nazi salutes. And then gas light 90ish percent of the world, that he didn't mean it or do that thing. I would be shocked if staff didn't drop the same euphemisms my grandpa did for folks.
That’s the whole goal of the extreme right. To dehumanize and delegitimize these programs by weaponizing the acronyms. And you can’t say they’re not succeeding. They’ve managed to bully and scare off corporations and public institutions from these well meaning programs.
Elon’s Nazi salute has already been justified and accepted. I don’t know why they don’t just say what they mean when they blame DEI. At this point…what are the consequences even? Unfortunately, who is going to do anything about it?
They still have to deny it they can't do it openly unless they are Elon and even he has to maintain a fig leaf of plausible deniabilty he can't publicly call trump the glorious Fuhrer of the new American Reich just yet.
Exactly this - President Trump’s despicable comments from today’s plane crash press conference translate to “Brown people and women caused this plane and helicopter to crash.” Needs to be stated by everyone every damn time he blames DEI.
I’ve been training FAA air traffic controllers for the past 3 yrs—they come in all sizes, shapes and colors, and none of that makes a difference about who can and can’t do the job…it’s what’s between the ears and a little confidence.
TrumpChild will falsely misrepresent & blame DEI.
The dei angle will attack women & nonwhites, after skilled disabled r falsely maligned.
CEOs will normalize fictional DEI issue to business. We should show empathy 4 lives lost.
Airport crash requires truth & facts, over prejudice.
Hearings Now!
It’s a euphemism for whatever racial slurs apply to the person in question. Meanwhile, any minority, especially POC, knows that we have to be 3x as educated, and 5x better than the next person just to be considered—sometimes for less pay.
In America, the more you sunburn the more mediocrity is fine
Much like when people hedge on whether or not someone NAZI salutes, we should insist people say exactly what they mean when they say DEI. We should make them say the slurs they’re trying so desperately to use it to hide behind.
The whole maga world is built on phases they can't describe the meaning of, but have relegated their own meaning to the phrase. It was historically called a "dog whistle".
yep exactly — as I was just pointing up yesterday re Pete Hegseth talking on Fox, attacks on ‘DEI’ have become a kind of shorthand cover for a deep political ugliness. Media coverage and commentary should contend with that. https://bsky.app/profile/markfollman.bsky.social/post/3lgwo7impmc2j
Hegseth inadvertently made this clear himself last night on Fox News, uttering the full words ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’—as if those are wrong or evil principles. He depicted them as *anathema* to the US military, despite knowing the diverse makeup of the military... https://bsky.app/profile/markfollman.bsky.social/post/3lgwnxyobnk2j
Imo, the media shouldn't even entertain that nonsense from the jump. For example, I am utterly astonished as to how Abby Philip can sit in front of someone like Scott Jennings, & be mansplained by that dickhead white guy abt how things like "diversity" are so bad for our society. 🤷🏽♂️
DEI is the new woke is the new thug is the new hood is the new you know what n word. The meaning is not sapped it’s been weaponized. And they do it well.
The reporters need to ask them specifically what they’re saying. Like in the press conference today, what does “common sense” mean? We all know obviously, but make them say it out loud.
Comments
Donald's
Exponential
Incompetence
Right wing politicians have been doing this for generations
They were born poor but are lacking race/gender/class conscience to understand rich powerful handsome successful and famous doesn't come with white cis male.
I'm a little bit tired, but I hope this makes some sense
SAY. IT. LOUDER.
Diverse hiring practices are much closer to “merit” than cronyism and nepotism.
They mean minorities are inferior to whites and so "meritocracy" means "put a white person in that role"
We grossly overestimated the intelligence and decency of the average American.
So what Mina said 👆🏽
AND 👇🏽
Normalize confronting the non-threatening looking-well-intentioned-white person, who “gets along with everyone” with the reality of what their strategy is 👇🏽
The message is basically racist, misogynistic and homophobic that the only people left who have rights and status are straight, white Christian men. Is this group the only ones that are employed
The bias is theirs for presuming that people who don't look like them are worse in nature - and they should have to express they believe that.
If they want an example of what they would be upset about from their own side, if we did it, look no further than Carlson's son getting a press sec gig.
“Oh, diversity caused this? Please explain how exactly?”
talk on this.
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/exclusive-lee-atwaters-infamous-1981-interview-southern-strategy/
"woke"
"politically correct"
"socialism"
"cultural Marxism"
This has been a LONG term strategy of the right, going back at least to the New Deal.
DEI = Woke = CRT = BLM = Hard ‘R’
https://bsky.app/profile/raeleemaycarpenter.bsky.social/post/3lgy5ix6zuc2u
Much better to punch them in their faces, until they are no longer nazi. But sometimes you DO need to spell out your advocacy for this.
not hard.
I think most know what they THINK the are “afraid of” but actually just repeat empty slogans, revealing deep ignorance of what it actually is: simply ourstorical accuracy … and ENSURING ALL qualified ppl get hired, accepted to schools, teams, neighborhoods, medical service…
What about Diversity is a problem for you personally? What about Equity is a problem for you personally? What about Inclusion is a problem for you personally? What about Accessibility is a problem for you personally?
White women, disabled, veterans, LGBTQ, Hispanic, Asian, Native Americans, BIPOC etc. are/were all considered minorities.
8. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.” https://www.openculture.com/2024/11/umberto-ecos-list-of-the-14-common-features-of-fascism.html
It's how they say the N word now.
He said our name wrong at the graduation ceremony and quit within a year
They did the same thing with "critical race theory," and now just about everyone seems to be using the term the way they misused it. They won the definition fight, and that's halfway to winning any argument.
Let’s do the debt ceiling next…
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lgxxdbbmwv2q
Love watching someone trip over their words explaining their use of it.
If so, can you please specify – in detail and at length – why you believe they're categorically inferior to white men, despite endless amounts of evidence to the contrary?"
https://bsky.app/profile/raeleemaycarpenter.bsky.social/post/3lgy5ix6zuc2u
The dei angle will attack women & nonwhites, after skilled disabled r falsely maligned.
CEOs will normalize fictional DEI issue to business. We should show empathy 4 lives lost.
Airport crash requires truth & facts, over prejudice.
Hearings Now!
In America, the more you sunburn the more mediocrity is fine
When they say “DEI,” they mean the n-word
"FLORIDA MAN USES DIVISIVE RHETORIC TO DIVERT FROM HIS LACK OF INTEREST IN PROTECTING AMERICANS"
there's some good academic texts on it but basically the existing system of paternal oppression was mapped to whole cultures to justify colonizing https://mediate.com/race-and-caste-gender-and-patriarchy-wealth-and-class-mediating-the-systems-structures-and-sources-of-prejudice/
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pentagon-intelligence-agency-pauses-events-activities-related-mlk/story?id=118244237