Have you seen this meme? Don’t say “I don’t like DEI,” it exhorts us. What, exactly, don’t you like? Is it diversity? Then say “I don’t like diversity.” Own it, man. Don’t hide behind an acronym.
Before I step up to the pinata, allow me a moment to point and laugh: have we all forgotten that the DEI acronym (like the ill-fated term “social justice warrior”) was invented by its proponents? You know you’re in a bad way when you start complaining that people are “hiding behind” your own term. If you wonder why it’s acquired unfortunate connotations, check the mirror.
Ahem…as to the DEI pinata: as St. Orwell taught us, newspeak is doubleplusungood, and it’s always reasonable to hate it. As Orwell also taught us, always, always look to the definitions. In DEI discourse, the words “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” are used in ways only vaguely related to the actual meanings of those words, and therein lies their motte-and-bailey utility. Suppose you oppose a hiring quota wherein you can’t accept qualified candidates from already “overrepresented” groups. “How could you be against diversity?” they say. The invocation of “diversity” in that (DEI) context is not an invitation to thoughtful discourse; it’s meant to throw you into a rhetorical hole wherein you now have to prove that you’re not “against diversity.” In other words, it is a thought-terminating cliche. Same goes for “equity” and “inclusion.” These words were always meant to be thought-terminating cliches; their proponents are just upset because people began to notice.
Let’s break it down:
In DEI discourse, “diversity” means people who look different in a picture but think the same, which is why, in a workplace as allegedly “diverse” as NPR, even Uri Berliner couldn’t generate any interest in viewpoint diversity – got run out of the organization for trying, in fact. That kind of “diversity”…isn’t anything of the kind. I dislike it for the same reason I dislike counterfeit money.
“Equity” in DEI terms means poo-pooing equal opportunity in favor of trying to guarantee a favored outcome. In practice, that means you’re going to indulge in a series of transparent manipulations in order to advantage some and handicap others in pursuit of some idealized vision which is, ex hypothesi, The Way The World Should Be (cf. complaints about Asian “overrepresentation” at certain colleges). In other words, you’re committing to a visibly unjust process today in hopes of achieving a just result in a distant future. “Let us do evil that good may come” has always been morally bankrupt; suggesting that these folks, of all people, possess special insight into The Way The World Should Be…jeepers, it would be laugh-til-you-pee funny except that people actually mean it.
“Inclusion” in DEI terms plays on your good desire to make someone feel welcome, but that’s not what “inclusion” means in this context. “Inclusion” gets used as a cover for rushing people into situations for which they’re not prepared, in order to make everybody else feel righteous about themselves. For example, “inclusion” in education has frequently meant mainstreaming students with special needs (lest they be stigmatized), with the result that they don’t get the specialized support that they need, the classroom environment is constantly disrupted, and teachers aren’t able to do their actual job for either group of students. (Then the school district blames declining test stores on the teachers, and funds more DEI initiatives in hopes of improving things. Lather, rinse, repeat.)
The DEI discourse versions of diversity, equity, and inclusion set forth a regime that every good, discerning human ought to hate. As Reagan once said of communism, the only places such a regime could work are heaven, where they don’t need it, and hell, where they already have it.
Be kind. Tell the truth, even when it’s hard. Don’t be a douche to your neighbors. Love the actual humans that are within your reach. And because you love what is good, true, and beautiful, hate fake virtue dressed up in swanky-sounding abstract nouns.
Full Contact Christianity 