We Have Met the Enemy
It is us.
For many people the sight of a person of color or even a women holding jobs that they remember were once held by white men, is evidence of reverse discrimination, of DEI, of replacing better qualified people with representatives of minority groups.
There is no clear evidence that this is the case. The “evidence” for this opinion seems to be that white men used to do that job and now they don’t.
This could be explained by believing that the “radical left” seeks political support and votes by placing people of color in high level positions for which they are not as well qualified as the traditional white appointments.
But that is not the only or the most likely explanation. If we assume, as most of us do since the evidence is overwhelming, that people of color were discriminated against in the past and also accept the less certain assumption that people have become less racist in their thinking, then what we are now actually seeing is the extent that merit has replaced some of the past bias in hiring and promotion and thus more people are being judged on the basis of their abilities and qualifications rather than on the color of their skin. So darker skinned people (and for similar reasons women) now occupy a higher proportion of high-status positions in society. It is important, I think, to emphasize that it is not just the “left” that hold these positions. The “right” in fact claims to strongly believe that there is less discrimination in the society today and gives that as their reason for claiming we no longer need strong anti-discrimination laws.
So, I think, for the sake of argument if we can take these two facts to be sufficiently true we do not need DEI to explain why we see more people of color in positions of authority. And it follows that as we continue to double down on merit as our central approach to hiring and advancement, there will necessarily be even more women and people of color in upper income jobs.
The present administration with its talking-pointed, media intense partisan propaganda on this issue, however, still relies on DEI as its explanation for the merit-based success of people of color and women in the marketplace.
This, by the way, is not necessarily their fault. I for one do not blame Republicans for making this argument. They are simply playing politics by the book, seeking to gain advantage where there is advantage to be gained.
Pogo the Possum cannot be quoted enough. “We have met the enemy and he is us.” As long as we are willing to fall for such propaganda, we will continue to be fed misleading and shallow arguments.
Politics is not governing. It is performance, and far more Barnum and Baily than serious theatre. Figure out who in the news media gets the most money and airtime, and you have identified the top performers. It’s far more slight of hand than cards on the table.
And we? Audiences out to be fooled, to be entertained, to be reassured that what we know already is all we need to know, those opinions and emotions that are warm, fuzzy, and familiar.
I once stood outside the Hippo cage at the DC zoo. The animal lumbered toward the fence, backed into us, coat and tie folk, and started to spin his tail. A very effective manure spreader.
Political Parties will keep pumping out propaganda, as long as we mindlessly accept it. So it’s getting “high and deeper.” The propaganda machines are running 24/7. And it’s not because they necessarily like to spread deceptive and often false information, it’s because we, the audience, is still clapping.
Hey John - I disagree on two grounds with this Op-ed. First it is NOT acceptable in any way to use racism as a campaign tool. Secondly, I disagree with the Both Sidesism, which usually morphs into "everybody does it so it must be OK".