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Ocelot II

(122,945 posts)
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 02:32 PM Jan 28

I would like to know exactly what underlies the Trump/GOP obsession with DEI.

I understand that they want to be sure mediocre white men get first dibs on jobs and that nobody gets in trouble at work just because they said "n****r" out loud, but it has to be something even deeper than that. There must be some intense, festering hate at the bottom of it. Have any of them ever even looked at DEI training materials? I really doubt it.

I had to take an online DEI course because I'm a volunteer with a program sponsored by our state university, and I found it completely uncontroversial, even a little boring, because the points were so obvious: Don't make assumptions about other people on account of their race/gender/religion/disability, etc., don't use slurs or nicknames; don't urge your religion on others; be respectful and kind; be aware of topics that might be controversial or hurtful. Avoid the sort of behavior that identifies you as a bigoted asshole and makes other people uncomfortable working with you, basically. The course was presented in a rather dry way, too much academic and corporate jargon that made it sort of a yawn, but I couldn't find anything in that would offend or upset anyone who wasn't a bigoted asshole. It certainly didn't suggest that white people were bad in any way.

So why is DEI such a horrible thing that it causes funding to be cut off, thousands of people fired, whole programs scrapped? This is some evil shit that goes beyond just the hurt feelings of weak, stupid white guys.

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I would like to know exactly what underlies the Trump/GOP obsession with DEI. (Original Post) Ocelot II Jan 28 OP
It's plain, old fashioned racism by another name. Shell_Seas Jan 28 #1
Racism: Dorian Gray Jan 29 #87
Racism JCMach1 Jan 28 #2
Yes, that, but DEI addresses a lot more than racism. Ocelot II Jan 28 #11
All true, but it's that racist myth that fuels it all JCMach1 Jan 28 #15
Sherrilynn Ifill, in an interview on "The Contrarian," soldierant Jan 28 #70
Racism, misogyny and homophobia are pretty deep n/t leftstreet Jan 28 #3
It's taking the place phylny Jan 28 #4
Yes, it's another wedge all right. ShazzieB Jan 28 #68
That's true and phylny Jan 28 #76
Right, and I agree. 😀 ShazzieB Jan 29 #96
racism mike_c Jan 28 #5
It's called racism n/t Alpeduez21 Jan 28 #6
Diversity...they are racist. Bluethroughu Jan 28 #7
Racism. Oopsie Daisy Jan 28 #8
It's made up for both woke and DEI.... Lovie777 Jan 28 #9
Repeat the same babble to the lemmings and you get an instant obsession. See 'WOKE' Lemons UK Jan 28 #10
Racism - unapologetic racism and they are damn proud of it. walkingman Jan 28 #12
The Felon is still mad about Obama. jls4561 Jan 28 #13
It rests on the idea that I've got mine so fuck you. Klarkashton Jan 28 #14
Enabled by SCROTUS dickthegrouch Jan 28 #45
The 60's and 70's The Unmitigated Gall Jan 28 #16
I agree Brenda Jan 28 #38
Simplest answer is that he personally hates AZJonnie Jan 28 #17
DEI triggers replacement fears in white christian men. sop Jan 28 #18
It's just being hateful. What they do best. LakeArenal Jan 28 #19
Attacks on DEI are coming mainly from the usual far-right... keep_left Jan 28 #20
Racism and sexism Johnny2X2X Jan 28 #21
I don't know how that is a mystery to you... pnwest Jan 28 #22
I get all that. What's puzzling to me, though, is why their obsession with it Ocelot II Jan 28 #24
Because it is the perfect issue to get everyone stirred up. Biophilic Jan 28 #46
Good point. Ocelot II Jan 28 #54
And the fact that they've managed to make it a wedge issue in the business area. Biophilic Jan 28 #56
They're racist etc and it's probably something that is fairly easy for them "to kill" LeftInTX Jan 28 #49
Price of eggs SARose Jan 28 #71
Who better to blame their own inadequacies on but minorities. Because if it was the black, brown people and hlthe2b Jan 28 #23
It undermined white supremacy iemanja Jan 28 #25
I was going to say "racism" but the first ten responses beat me to it. EarnestPutz Jan 28 #26
they are fascists. mucifer Jan 28 #27
I agree with everyone about racism. I also believe he cannot stand that most black people despise him. tulipsandroses Jan 28 #28
Racism and sexism Roxi Jan 28 #29
They are installing a permanent straight white male christian minority ruling class. Irish_Dem Jan 28 #30
Please spell it KKKristian dickthegrouch Jan 28 #47
I am going to use christian for specific reasons. Irish_Dem Jan 28 #50
He's a psychopath. ... littlemissmartypants Jan 28 #31
It's not mere racism; it's worse. It's white nationalism. unblock Jan 28 #32
Women in the kitchen, children and POC in the fields. 33taw Jan 28 #33
This - absolutely - no doubt - none Tesha Jan 28 #40
Unqualified, lazy, straight, white men are mad that everyone else is receiving jobs they feel are entitled to them. LonePirate Jan 28 #34
Reply just after yours... Hugin Jan 28 #37
It has GOT to be somebody else's fault that they woke up in their fifties after a life of... Hugin Jan 28 #35
It's based on bullshit grievances. alarimer Jan 28 #36
Control freaks. moondust Jan 28 #39
Racism. White male entitlement slipping away. . . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Jan 28 #41
They are racist and sexist and especially so when it comes to Black Women. Quiet Em Jan 28 #42
In my ForgedCrank Jan 28 #43
That was the same argument that was raised against affirmative action programs Ocelot II Jan 28 #44
Even IF it was possibly true on rare occasions the phrase came up for that was... electric_blue68 Jan 28 #86
It's called making excuses for their bigotry Keepthesoulalive Jan 28 #78
DEI and immigrants are the scapegoats for all that is wrong with America. Intractable Jan 28 #48
Racism regnaD kciN Jan 28 #51
Make bigotry great again get the red out Jan 28 #52
The Obama presidency malaise Jan 28 #53
I hope I can say this without pissing people off. doc03 Jan 28 #55
Eh Cosmocat Jan 28 #63
We may see them as gualified but when you say I will appoint a gay person here. or poc there doc03 Jan 28 #67
People who WANT to hear that, hear that. The reality is that in the case of Biden's appointments, there were at least spooky3 Jan 28 #77
Just as I thought if I tried to explain what I have heard from other people doc03 Jan 28 #84
Lol. You ain't being attacked. Solomon Jan 29 #90
Shouldn't tv shows reflect America Keepthesoulalive Jan 28 #83
You are absolutely, 100% correct. Fix The Stupid Jan 29 #91
Manly Western White Guy Best. Everyone else weak and bad. haele Jan 28 #57
Racism as mentioned but also Figarosmom Jan 28 #58
Because it interferes with their centuries old "privilege" to always choose a straight white Christian male Wiz Imp Jan 28 #59
I think its more than just racism Libloom Jan 28 #60
MAGAts young and old Bettie Jan 28 #61
Racism, bigotry, misogyny, corruption - TBF Jan 28 #62
He got it from FOX News. CRT, Trans, immigrant eating pets., lack of water to fight LA fires, and too many other lies surfered Jan 28 #64
It's always been their thing. They have been mislabeling it as "Quotas" for decades. Gore1FL Jan 28 #65
White men and their wives, as well as christians, A_Steel_Magnolia Jan 28 #66
That and immigration are just red meat... S/V Loner Jan 28 #69
It's one of the few acronyms they can spell and it satiates the rabid, racist, rancor of their beastly, bawling, base. PikaBlue Jan 28 #72
It started, like all bad things, on the racist corners of the internet. Initech Jan 28 #73
Divide and conquer. mahina Jan 28 #74
Fascist need a scapegoat and to deflect from their actual biases IbogaProject Jan 28 #75
It's a dogwhistle for the aggrieved white males valleyrogue Jan 28 #79
I think it's pretty obvious no? Meowmee Jan 28 #80
The basic intent is obvious, but my question is directed more to Ocelot II Jan 28 #81
I think it's their intention to destroy the entire government etc Meowmee Jan 28 #82
It's pretty simple: White men should be on top, everyone else subordinate. "Equality" simple elevates the lessers JHB Jan 28 #85
The reason is in your post Strelnikov_ Jan 29 #88
White male supremacy SocialDemocrat61 Jan 29 #89
"Woke" reached its sell-by date, so they had to come up with something new. hatrack Jan 29 #92
And they can't define it because they know they'd get demonetized if they actually said it. Initech Jan 29 #98
Fear of minorities having less money bases all hate and racism. Festivito Jan 29 #93
Just plain hate and selfishness. It's not complicated with these fuckers. Remember, the orange one gets his hate from Hotler Jan 29 #94
dogwhistle for raceisim. AllaN01Bear Jan 29 #95
It's hate and racism fueled by the worst corners of the internet. Initech Jan 29 #97

Dorian Gray

(13,773 posts)
87. Racism:
Wed Jan 29, 2025, 06:09 AM
Jan 29

Yes, Trump et al are racists and they've embraced a talking point that they think resonates with people. DEIB is important to communities. Diversity can strengthen organizations -- you want diverse perspectives for sure. You want equitable work places. You want to include people of various backgrounds in the decision making, and you want them to feel like they belong in the room.

But what made this a successful line of attack by the republicans were the excesses of the movement. People like Saira Rao and her organization Race2Dinner, for instance. Then White Fragility by Robin D'Angelo -- a book that has had backlash within the DEIB community. The questions about the misappropriation of funds in Ibram X Kendi's Center for Antiracist Research at BU (which BU cleared him of). Rather than celebrating the various identities and cultures, some professionals focused on the negativity and divisions. It created a wedge. LatinX (did anybody consult members of the Latino community about that who weren't activists or academia?). The DEIB industry in the non profit circles I run in has had a serious reckoning and course change in the last two years.

Trump and his advisors aren't exactly the inwardly looking types. They took these divisions and ran with them, and it isn't super surprising.

Ocelot II

(122,945 posts)
11. Yes, that, but DEI addresses a lot more than racism.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 02:37 PM
Jan 28

It covers issues of gender (well, we know they hate LGBTQ people, especially trans people - and I don't get that, either), disability, religion, all the characteristics that might make someone "different" and thereby treated in an unfavorable way. The opposition to DEI is so intense as to be irrational, even psychotic.

JCMach1

(28,343 posts)
15. All true, but it's that racist myth that fuels it all
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 02:40 PM
Jan 28

Also, RW corporations had this on the list and have been astroturfing opposition via Maga washing programs.

soldierant

(8,172 posts)
70. Sherrilynn Ifill, in an interview on "The Contrarian,"
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:26 PM
Jan 28

said it better than I am going to. Yeah, it's racism, but we who are not racists do not get what racism means to them. They believe in their hearts that white men being in charge of everything is the natural order - even a God-ordained order, some of them - and anything that conflicts with that makes the entire universe feel out of control.

Parents of white sons, please understand that this narrative is embedded in society, and you must look our foe it and try to clean it out for your sons. Not by authoritarian parenting - that would probably make it worse - but through respectful parenting which leads them to think it out foe themselves. And good luck.

ShazzieB

(19,395 posts)
68. Yes, it's another wedge all right.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:19 PM
Jan 28

But it's not "taking the place of" trans issues. The trans community has been in the crosshairs of RW hate for a while now, and trans folks are among the marginalized groups that DEI programs teach people to be fair and respectful to.

I would even say that the rights of trans people (especially trans kids) are under more intensive and focused attack than the rights of any other marginalized group (with the possible exception of immigrants who are now living in fear of deportation).

Trump and his flying monkeys want to eliminate all DEI programs because those programs are a threat to their hate campaign against women, bipoc people, and LGBTQ people, including those represented by the "T" in LGBTQ.

phylny

(8,677 posts)
76. That's true and
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 06:08 PM
Jan 28

no slight meant to our trans community. I just meant they continue to mine more and more “rage” topics.

Bluethroughu

(6,845 posts)
7. Diversity...they are racist.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 02:36 PM
Jan 28

Equity, they are about the money.

Inclusion, they are against ANYTHING FOR ALL.

Lovie777

(16,610 posts)
9. It's made up for both woke and DEI....
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 02:37 PM
Jan 28

to instill fear that POC are trying to take their livelihood away.

jls4561

(1,973 posts)
13. The Felon is still mad about Obama.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 02:38 PM
Jan 28

Younger, better looking, better educated, more eloquent, able to read and comprehend, more compassionate, better dancer…

And BLACK!! Dammit!

Klarkashton

(2,839 posts)
14. It rests on the idea that I've got mine so fuck you.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 02:40 PM
Jan 28

They are in denial that there is fundamental racism
And if it were hands off by the government it will all take care of itself.

dickthegrouch

(3,926 posts)
45. Enabled by SCROTUS
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:56 PM
Jan 28

They said there's no institutional racism.
Hopefully they aren't so craven or blind that they can't see there's a "new", bolder racism that needs their attention, if "equal protection" is to mean anything next week.

The Unmitigated Gall

(4,708 posts)
16. The 60's and 70's
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 02:40 PM
Jan 28

Were about destroying the caste system that has ruled this nation since before it’s founding. What’s happening now IMO is the attempt to return that system full-force.

Brenda

(1,463 posts)
38. I agree
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:31 PM
Jan 28

The John Birchers, the Christian Nationalists, KKK/Nazis, etc. have been hacking away since 1980 (well some before then but Raygun happened).

Thanks to so many ignorant, indifferent and downright brain damaged American citizens we're faced with this current shitstream of chaos where DEI, basically material that reflects the ethos of America - Freedom and Equality, is being thrown out as if it's the Satanic Bible.

AZJonnie

(346 posts)
17. Simplest answer is that he personally hates
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 02:40 PM
Jan 28

N*****s, We****ks, Q****s, The Disabled, Women, and Veterans who were seriously wounded or captured (losers, iow), etc, and wants life to suck for them.

The next simplest answer is that the people who vote for him (and give him money and show up to his hate rallies) in turn hate 'those people' (and/or buy into the replacement theory bullshit), and he's a power-hungry pathological narcissist.

Johnny2X2X

(22,267 posts)
21. Racism and sexism
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 02:44 PM
Jan 28

They literally think any woman and every minority do not deserve their jobs because they think they took them from a mroe qualified white guy.

That's at their root, I know this, I hear this in my life. At their core, they think only white men are capable.

pnwest

(3,307 posts)
22. I don't know how that is a mystery to you...
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 02:44 PM
Jan 28

...you laid it out perfectly in your post. Intense, festering fear IS at the bottom of racist hate. And DEI initiatives EMBODY their fear of being "replaced".

Ocelot II

(122,945 posts)
24. I get all that. What's puzzling to me, though, is why their obsession with it
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 02:49 PM
Jan 28

is so overwhelming and ultimately self-destructive. They are shutting down the government just to remove all traces of DEI or of anything that could be construed as derived from it. I'm not surprised that they don't want DEI in their agencies' HR materials or training; what seems insane is the scorched-earth efforts to obliterate it from everything, since the collateral damage will be considerable and the blowback will be enormous. FAFO, I guess.

Biophilic

(5,272 posts)
46. Because it is the perfect issue to get everyone stirred up.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:59 PM
Jan 28

It can touch just about everyone because it is so ambiguous and broad. It gets everyone stirred up, both the MAGAs and the decent folk. It is the perfect dividing issue to get us all at each other’s throats. I very fearfully have to admit that those behind project 2025 are very smart.

Ocelot II

(122,945 posts)
54. Good point.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 04:20 PM
Jan 28

If they just wanted to get DEI out of federal agencies all they'd have had to do is close out those offices, but they've gone much farther. It's kind of insane.

Biophilic

(5,272 posts)
56. And the fact that they've managed to make it a wedge issue in the business area.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 04:49 PM
Jan 28

I really believe this was chosen deliberately to increase both the fear and loathing on our side as well as the excitement and seeming joy from the MAGAs. Quite bluntly I think we have been out foxed and than some.

SARose

(1,127 posts)
71. Price of eggs
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:31 PM
Jan 28

Once again here is this bright shiny ball called DEI and woke - whatever that is.

The price of eggs is increasing.

MAGA has done nothing to deal with guns and butter issues.

Cheeto man is spending $82,000/flight to transfer 80/90 migrants back to their home countries. Biden’s flights cost about $8,000 and transported more people.

Trumps approval rating is going down and the disapproval rate jumped from 39% to 46%.

Annnddd the Republicans are at Doral this weekend kissing a$$ while the orange one plays golf while ‘Merica burns.



hlthe2b

(107,822 posts)
23. Who better to blame their own inadequacies on but minorities. Because if it was the black, brown people and
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 02:48 PM
Jan 28

women who supposedly got all the "help," then it explains their own failures. And heaven knows they are not EVER going to admit that a black, brown or Asian person--much less a WOMAN of any race/ethnicity could be BETTER than they are. So, yeah, racism, but racism is likewise a convenient target for their own self-hatred.

tulipsandroses

(6,730 posts)
28. I agree with everyone about racism. I also believe he cannot stand that most black people despise him.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:04 PM
Jan 28

He wants to destroy or damage black communities.
The same for women. I think he has a hatred for women.
He takes pleasure in inflicting pain on his enemies.
That's why he just sat and watched the riots on Jan 6. He enjoyed it.

Roxi

(2,171 posts)
29. Racism and sexism
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:04 PM
Jan 28

They want to return to the pre-Civil War era, when non-whites were slaves and women were nothing but chattel.

DEI isn’t just for removing barriers due to race. It’s also responsible for forcing white men to treat women as human beings (at least in the workforce), and good ol’ boys don’t like that.

As depressing as it is, I think this is just the beginning of a really dark period in our country’s history. I’m really worried about what the future holds for my kids and grandkids.

Irish_Dem

(63,826 posts)
30. They are installing a permanent straight white male christian minority ruling class.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:07 PM
Jan 28

Their power will be permanent, total, and absolute.
Everyone else with be humiliated, powerless, and afraid.

White males are furious that their power was being eroded by women and minority groups.
They are threatened on many levels including sexually.

dickthegrouch

(3,926 posts)
47. Please spell it KKKristian
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 04:04 PM
Jan 28

I was pilloried for attempting to coin that term here many years ago.
However, I still believe it has some merit.
I'll define the term as reserved for any purported christian who doesn't live up to the ideals of Christ in word and deed. Someone who hides behind the bible without having understood (or read) it. Someone who who doesn't even call out or work against the so-called leaders of their community when they parrot unchristian values.
Some organisations (the KKK, duh) are inherently KKKristian.
Current GOP is KKKristian.

Irish_Dem

(63,826 posts)
50. I am going to use christian for specific reasons.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 04:09 PM
Jan 28

The GOP uses Christianity as a weapon against all kinds of groups.
It is not just racist, it is also sexist and and anti-LGBT, anti-POC, etc.

To connect it to the KKK makes it look just racist, in reality it goes way beyond that.

littlemissmartypants

(26,650 posts)
31. He's a psychopath. ...
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:08 PM
Jan 28

It's literally the nature of the beast. If there are laws to be broken, morals to disregard, evils to be elevated and pain to be inflicted it's literally all the psychopath lives for, it makes him tick.

There doesn't have to be a justification for anything. Manufacturing the most evil behavior possible is the fundamental moral compass of these freaks that are identified as psychopaths.

Think of it like this. If you have an idea of something good, think of the most outrageous distortion you can at the opposite end of the continuum and that's their go-to behavior.

Examples:

To love is to hurt.
To feel and inflict pain is joyful.
To help is to destroy.
To serve is to trample over.
To support is to eliminate all help.
Evil is the right thing to do.

Every day is opposite day.

It's a twisted mindset. It’s difficult to understand and for the majority of people, it should be. Don’t worry if it makes no sense to you. It's clearly good news if you have trouble wrapping your head around it because it is so fu>king perverse.

❤️pants

unblock

(54,543 posts)
32. It's not mere racism; it's worse. It's white nationalism.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:08 PM
Jan 28

It's ideas like white peoples should be entitled to create a business where they never have to see a black person or a woman.

They see diversity is an evil infringement on their freedom to be bigots.

Tesha

(21,001 posts)
40. This - absolutely - no doubt - none
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:34 PM
Jan 28

Women and POC are taking jobs from men, family men.

You can’t make dirty jokes and pinch behinds anymore! We need more men in power - take back the right to harass!


Men first, last and always.

In the NH House a few years ago a group of men refused to take the DEI, demanding the right to have their own training.
It was basically how to not let women cause you problems.

LonePirate

(14,004 posts)
34. Unqualified, lazy, straight, white men are mad that everyone else is receiving jobs they feel are entitled to them.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:22 PM
Jan 28

Hugin

(35,519 posts)
35. It has GOT to be somebody else's fault that they woke up in their fifties after a life of...
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:28 PM
Jan 28

Fucking around and being assholes with no beautiful wife, fancy car, big house, or prospects of any kind.

THEY WUZ ROBBED!1!!1ii

alarimer

(16,823 posts)
36. It's based on bullshit grievances.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:28 PM
Jan 28

Never mind that no DEI hire is actually unqualified for whatever position they get. That's now how it works.

Some mediocre white guys in the form of right-wing nuts are aggrieved because they got passed over by SOMEONE WHO IS BETTER THAN THEY ARE and, instead of asking what they could do better, they just assumed it was because of DEI. We've all heard those complaints; we may have worked with or known these people who complained they got passed over for no good reason.

I know that when I lost out on a job or promotion (which was extremely frequent LOL), I always just assumed I could have done better. Or I was lacking some skill or whatever. You know, like a normal person and not like these losers.

moondust

(20,714 posts)
39. Control freaks.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:31 PM
Jan 28

Slavers were control freaks. Ya think their control freak mindset and way of raising white male children to be the next generation of control freaks disappeared with the abolition of slavery?

They've probably been bitterly watching many women and minorities rise to high positions and doing well there since the 60s-70s, and when there was finally a woman candidate for President in 2016--right after the black guy--they said ENOUGH!!! BACK TO THE GOOD OLD DAYS!!! WE OWN THIS PLACE!!! (Remember the "ownership society"?)

They got a "famous" racist/misogynist/criminal WWE thug to represent them and they went all in.

Quiet Em

(1,543 posts)
42. They are racist and sexist and especially so when it comes to Black Women.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:37 PM
Jan 28

Just look at their obsession with Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, Tish James and Fani Willis.

ForgedCrank

(2,529 posts)
43. In my
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:42 PM
Jan 28

personal opinion, and based on what I hear in real life from these people instead of DU.
The problem they have is not equality. The problem they have is that the way they are seeing it, a lot of positions are filled based on race or gender as a priority, and that is absolutely illegal if that is what is happening. They also see standards lowered so that all so that women or minorities will qualify where they normally wouldn't have based on actual duty requirements. That is also not good if it is really happening.
Their points are valid in my opinion, except that I don't believe it is really happening. If someone has an advantage because of their race or gender, I would have to disagree with that policy. It goes against everything a Democrat should believe in, as in we are all equal in regard to our race or gender.

Ocelot II

(122,945 posts)
44. That was the same argument that was raised against affirmative action programs
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 03:46 PM
Jan 28

back in the '80s. Disgruntled mediocre white guys complained that a woman or a black person got a job that by rights should have been theirs. As a woman working in a male-dominated profession I got that sort of crap all the time - I was assumed to have been an affirmative action hire and therefore less qualified than the men I worked with (and I was actually more qualified than most of them). Their points are not valid because it's not happening. Mediocre white guys still have the advantage despite DEI.

electric_blue68

(20,019 posts)
86. Even IF it was possibly true on rare occasions the phrase came up for that was...
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 11:46 PM
Jan 28

it might get you in the door, but it’s not going to keep you there.

In other words on some rare occasions a less qualified POC, or woman was hired....most likely they'll be fired because they weren't doing a good job.
Imho

Keepthesoulalive

(1,009 posts)
78. It's called making excuses for their bigotry
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 06:20 PM
Jan 28

Look at all the mediocre white folks in this administration including the head idiot and tell me about qualified white people. Being a minority many times means you must be twice as good to get half as far. Competent black people have prosecuted him and white tech bros on government welfare kiss his fat ass.

Intractable

(862 posts)
48. DEI and immigrants are the scapegoats for all that is wrong with America.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 04:06 PM
Jan 28

Authoritarians need scapegoats -- people to blame -- to keep the attention off their own failings.

get the red out

(13,683 posts)
52. Make bigotry great again
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 04:18 PM
Jan 28

I have had DEI training too, it all seemed to come down to not being an asshole to anyone. That's pretty good advice for any workplace, but demonizing it gives Republicans the permission to mistreat people they hate. No more being asked to assess their attitudes and try to improve them. It means that they are ok and never have to even consider changing because it is illegal for anyone to even suggest it.

doc03

(37,402 posts)
55. I hope I can say this without pissing people off.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 04:28 PM
Jan 28

If you watch Chicago Fire for instance. It is like they have check list for characters. This is what I hear from MAGAs, you have to have a mixed race marriage, a gay couple, a lesbian couple. a handicapped person. That is what I hear mostly about Biden he made a promise to appoint a woman VP, a woman on the SCOTUS, a gay here, a trans person there. It's like when we complain about Trump putting people in jobs they are not qualified for just because they are his friends. It works both ways.

Cosmocat

(15,092 posts)
63. Eh
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:08 PM
Jan 28

What you are saying is true, top level.

But all the people you note placed/elected in governmental positions by Ds are very well qualified, highly capable and of good moral quality.

So, it isn't like DT putting in unqualified, incapable, immoral morons, or capable psychopaths or lunatic partisans.



Our obhection

doc03

(37,402 posts)
67. We may see them as gualified but when you say I will appoint a gay person here. or poc there
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:19 PM
Jan 28

it sounds like a quota. They are brainwashed into thinking Trump's people are qualified. Biden was always a moderate,
I think he let the more liberal side influence him too much.

spooky3

(36,937 posts)
77. People who WANT to hear that, hear that. The reality is that in the case of Biden's appointments, there were at least
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 06:17 PM
Jan 28

20 (probably hundreds of) highly qualified people he could put in those positions or nominate. He was simply stating that, due to underrepresentation, he would select a person of color and/or a woman from among those highly qualified people. Businesses with affirmative action programs to address underrepresentation have been doing this for years.

doc03

(37,402 posts)
84. Just as I thought if I tried to explain what I have heard from other people
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 09:41 PM
Jan 28

that voted for Trump or not at all, I would be attacked. It's always shoot the messenger.

Keepthesoulalive

(1,009 posts)
83. Shouldn't tv shows reflect America
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 07:33 PM
Jan 28

Or should all of our heroes be white and the bad guys be ethnic , you know drug dealers or maybe women should be nurses . The helping professions. Black faces in white spaces. Why should anyone give a damn?

haele

(13,879 posts)
57. Manly Western White Guy Best. Everyone else weak and bad.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 04:52 PM
Jan 28

Basically, the "White Man Savior" attitude.
So, from what I've observed over 60- off years in the English speaking world, socially the "Social Value/Meritorious" system generally goes (from the top):

- Wealthy Christian "White" Hetero Males
- Other Wealthy Males (wealth comes first, then religion, then sexual orientation, then race)
- Wealthy Christian White Females (sexual orientation doesn't really matter)
- Professional White Males
- Wealthy and Professional White Females (wealth, then religion)
- Professional Males, other than White
- Working Males other than White (and Military, both male and female)
- Professional Females, non-white and Working White Females
- White Children
- Poor unemployed or minimally employed men (white or non-white)and Working Non-White Females.
- Poor unemployed/minimally employed non-white females and non-white children
- Poor Felons

Males are above Females, then Whites are above non-Whites, then Christians are above non-Christians, but Wealth and if one works for a living is the overall criteria. Money can cover a lot of "sins".
Education come a distant last, basically to differentiate the "Professionals" who have a career that can make money from drones who trade their labor to survive.



Figarosmom

(4,369 posts)
58. Racism as mentioned but also
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 04:53 PM
Jan 28

The part about not pushing their religion on others. They love doing that and think it's justified.

Wiz Imp

(3,660 posts)
59. Because it interferes with their centuries old "privilege" to always choose a straight white Christian male
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:02 PM
Jan 28

for any job. Straight White Christian males have had practically all the power in this country since the very beginning. And many straight white Christian males think it always should remain that way. Things like DEI jeopardize that power.

Libloom

(40 posts)
60. I think its more than just racism
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:03 PM
Jan 28

It's not just about racism—there’s a broader strategy at play. By labeling DEI initiatives as inherently racist or discriminatory, they create a pretext to gain control over various entities. For example, they can cut off funding to schools, research institutions, and other organizations receiving government money if they don’t comply with their terms. This extends to private businesses too, using lawsuits or boycotts to pressure them into falling in line. Once these groups submit, even once, it becomes easier to maintain that control and enforce compliance in the future. It’s a way to consolidate influence across multiple sectors. The use of DEI make this easier for them.

Bettie

(17,723 posts)
61. MAGAts young and old
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:08 PM
Jan 28

are angry that anyone who isn't right wing, white, male, and an evangelical (or conservative catholic) shouldn't be hired for most jobs.

They want society to be set up for them alone...anyone who isn't one of them is a DEI hire. They seem to believe that they would be wealthy if only women and men who aren't white would just get out of their way.

I say this from knowing a lot of them, being related to a lot of them, and listening them spew their bile for years.

They think they are being held down by women and minorities. They think the billionaires want to help them.

They are amazingly stupid.

TBF

(35,008 posts)
62. Racism, bigotry, misogyny, corruption -
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:08 PM
Jan 28

and they are still fighting the damned civil war down here in the south.

And it is a very effective wedge issue - turn a big section of poor people against another big section. They fight each other while the billionaires (vis a vie the republican party) steal the farm.

surfered

(4,937 posts)
64. He got it from FOX News. CRT, Trans, immigrant eating pets., lack of water to fight LA fires, and too many other lies
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:08 PM
Jan 28

On FOX as part of their “AngerTainment” programming to rile the base. He’s providing solutions for things that weren’t a problem, then claiming he fixed it.

Gore1FL

(22,171 posts)
65. It's always been their thing. They have been mislabeling it as "Quotas" for decades.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:16 PM
Jan 28

The dog whistles are just normal whistles now.

A_Steel_Magnolia

(75 posts)
66. White men and their wives, as well as christians,
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:17 PM
Jan 28

(a Venn diagram would present them as overlapping circles) are losing their privilege relative to the rest of the population. People simply don't give up privilege without a fight. White christian nationalism is the umbrella they are using to reclaim their privilege. BTW, they probably don't consider that they are privileged; they simply deserve to be treated better than other people

S/V Loner

(9,217 posts)
69. That and immigration are just red meat...
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:24 PM
Jan 28

to his base and he knows they need to be kept fed or they will turn on him. They feed on hate and he can't afford to let them starve.

PikaBlue

(276 posts)
72. It's one of the few acronyms they can spell and it satiates the rabid, racist, rancor of their beastly, bawling, base.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:51 PM
Jan 28

The alliteration was pleasing.

Initech

(103,580 posts)
73. It started, like all bad things, on the racist corners of the internet.
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 05:59 PM
Jan 28

Think Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Infowars - all that bullshit.

IbogaProject

(4,059 posts)
75. Fascist need a scapegoat and to deflect from their actual biases
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 06:06 PM
Jan 28

That is the scam accuse our side of doing what they want to do.

Ocelot II

(122,945 posts)
81. The basic intent is obvious, but my question is directed more to
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 07:10 PM
Jan 28

the reason for the degree of overkill and the sheer malice involved. They could have eliminated unwanted DEI programs easily without torching the entire executive branch simply by directing the agencies to close out the DEI initiatives in their HR departments, and to reassign employees to other work. Instead, DEI is being treated like accusations of Communism during the McCarthy era when in fact it's simply a pretty innocuous employee training program that doesn't discriminate against white people in any respect; it merely points out how to avoid bias against minority/LGBTQ/people with disabilities, etc. I get their desire to be sure mediocre white men keep their advantages but intentionally causing enormous collateral damage in the process seems like a pretty bizarre political strategy. The speculation in this thread that the whole thing is performative rather than substantive is the only thing that makes any sense. It will bite them in the ass eventually, but not soon enough.

Meowmee

(7,098 posts)
82. I think it's their intention to destroy the entire government etc
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 07:12 PM
Jan 28

And implement policies or whatever goes along with everything they believe. They made no secret about what they were going to do. My question is can they be stopped at this point?

JHB

(37,569 posts)
85. It's pretty simple: White men should be on top, everyone else subordinate. "Equality" simple elevates the lessers
Tue Jan 28, 2025, 09:52 PM
Jan 28

They have their view of the proper order of things, and any disruption of that is the end of the world, or at least their world, so it's evil, evil, EVIL!!!

It's not that complicated. They have the whole world ordered in their heads, and "You're not in your pigeonhole, dammit! Get back in there!"

Strelnikov_

(7,900 posts)
88. The reason is in your post
Wed Jan 29, 2025, 08:02 AM
Jan 29

“Couldn't find anything in that would offend or upset anyone who wasn't a bigoted asshole”

hatrack

(61,741 posts)
92. "Woke" reached its sell-by date, so they had to come up with something new.
Wed Jan 29, 2025, 09:14 AM
Jan 29

Like "woke", "DEI" will serve the same essential function - Thing We Do Not Like (But Cannot Define), and we'll wave it around whenever necessary to rile up the morons who still support us.

Initech

(103,580 posts)
98. And they can't define it because they know they'd get demonetized if they actually said it.
Wed Jan 29, 2025, 01:48 PM
Jan 29

Which is part of the reason why they're also going after host platforms and those pesky terms of service agreements. The sick fucks want to let it be known what they are actually thinking.

Festivito

(13,662 posts)
93. Fear of minorities having less money bases all hate and racism.
Wed Jan 29, 2025, 09:46 AM
Jan 29

So, if you tell people a small group of people (a minority) want something, it does not have to cost directly. It's that they and their friends can leave you needing to help them when their tragedies strike them urging you to pay until you come down to their impoverished level.

DEI is for groups of these possibly impoverished. My fear of becoming poor by brushing with these people turns to anger. My unwillingness to accept it is my socio-economic status fall that I fear, leads me to blame other attributes, e.g. color, deformity, difference. Finally, my anger, becomes fake based on the attributes I picked because I don't want to even mention that I might be that close to poor that I would even be concerned about becoming poor.

As to your question, why DEI. Being different can mean not getting a job, thus being a step away from poor. It's an easy sell.

Contrary to gays, who ended up promoting rich gays, and gays who do not spend on children seem richer. There are poor gays, however the silence of those made for envisioning the non-poor. They will still pick on gays as a minority that might lose you a job, but advances were made.

Hotler

(12,664 posts)
94. Just plain hate and selfishness. It's not complicated with these fuckers. Remember, the orange one gets his hate from
Wed Jan 29, 2025, 10:20 AM
Jan 29

his voters, and those voters can be your friends, family, co-worker, neighbors, etc. Stay vigilant around them and watch your six.

Initech

(103,580 posts)
97. It's hate and racism fueled by the worst corners of the internet.
Wed Jan 29, 2025, 01:45 PM
Jan 29

And mostly coming from uneducated, privileged ignoramuses like Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk.

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