Running racism in America thread

Who, the guy who wrote that? It's not really the point to me.

I am pointing out that there are groups that feel aggreived by what they do (which would kind of conflict with what you'd think they exist for). And I do agree with his conclusion about these DEI bureaucracies existing to enforce very particular dogma (and wield power to threaten people into shutting up and going along with it). I have seen way too much that reinforces that.

As for what is in the hearts of most people who have gravitated to those jobs. ... that Heritage backgrounder was actually pretty interesting. I'll actually countdown to someone who has no interest in looking at it, doing" Heritage Foundation!" So, take it for what it is worth.

But they tracked the tweets of people working in DEI offices at universities and compared their tweets about Israel to their tweets about China, and the level of vitriol and extreme language attached to their rhetoric in the tweets about Israel -- for example, tweets about "apartheid" and "genocide" and "colonialism" was stark. The hostility toward Israel was clearcut, and while that doesn't necessarily equate to antisemitism, it's difficult to reconcile some of the really angry and hateful language they used in various tweets without at least being suspicious. They didn't feel anywhere near the level of passion toward anything dictatorial China does (for example, actual human rights abuses).

They found one personal tweet from a DEI officer that said: “Every Israeli bomb and bullet used against Palestinians and paid for by USA dollars has been consummated by the blood and soil of American Indians. From the river to the sea and from sea to shining sea, we shall be free.”

I think that kind of "narrative" encapsulates what is going on with DEI perfectly.

And FWIW, "river to the sea" is a genocidal statement.

Do I think the tally of the tweets in that backgrounder were cherry picked anomalies? No. I think what I said earlier about a dangerous "opppressor / oppressed" narrative that makes sweeping generalizations about groups of people is actually a tenet of DEI in practice in those offices. ... and I think that oppressor Jews (privileged!) vs. oppressed Arab Palestinians (victims!) fits very neatly into the dogma they buy into. And I think it's why we have seen what we saw in practice when jewish students felt threatened on campuses and DEI was busy with "microaggressions."

 

I don't think you are following what I was referring to.

https://www.heritage.org/education/...semitism-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-staff

 

So I personally think anyone who is in a "panic" over UCLA's admissions office needs to get a life. I hope people like that don't seriously exist. On the list of potentially messed up things in the world, I can think of a gazillion that have more direct impact on any of us (on me, at least), than if UCLA Medical School is making race-based admissions decisions. I think it's discriminatory if they do. ... and I think life goes on either way.

I agree that there is a screech machine out there trying to fight the"culture wars," and they use hyperbole and stupid rhetoric and conflate things in alarmist ways to rile up their followers. I agree with you about how shitty it is. "Race hustle for kneejerk conservatives" was a good way to put it, and it actually goes beyond race to include all kinds of groups of people they want to turn into an enemy / scapegoat for the moment.

The other half, though (which I will add). ... is that it's part of a broader culture war has an equally shitty yin to the yang you are pointing out. And that is where the DEI bureaucracies we are talking about came in, because they do "race hustle" of a different type (although again, it's not just about race). I am talking about the opppressor / oppressed narratives that are their bread and butter, and telling non-preferred groups they are "privileged" (which feels retributive in nature) and the "microaggression" and victimhood culture that they weaponize as a threat to go along with the dogma if you want to survive in academia. I won't belabor it, but I do think the grievances of Asians and Jews (non preferred groups in that world) on various college campuses has been very inconvenient.