THE DEATH OF WHITE PRIVILEGE
The only people who support dismantling DEI are upfront racists and those, mostly whites lacking higher educations, who benefit from moving up without it. And contrary to MAGA doctrine, programs like DEI which address racial discrimination in the workplace are not in and of themselves discriminatory.
Face it, if you are competent, you are not concerned about such things. Besides upfront racists with long excuses, mediocre whites are the only people attack DEI initiatives. They fear being beaten out by people who historically have had to fall in behind them for jobs and advancement. They fear the loss of White Privilege.
Even as late as the 1980’s, white men in an industrialized-based economy dominated the workplace thanks to longstanding traditions like “last hired, first fired” and other discriminatory labor practices. Thus, the manufacturing economy provided a cushion for white men with only a basic education that guaranteed them success.
However, in the last 40 years, that has changed significantly. Today, with an economy based on services and knowledge, the coming (and going) of Affirmative Action and more recently the advent of DEI initiatives, mediocrity in the job marketplace is not an option for success.
Previously marginalized groups now outpace whites without degrees in hiring and advancement. That’s because DEI allows for merit-based opportunity. Better education and work ethics are what count in today’s workplace.
The simple truth is that, despite MAGA and other racist arguments to the contrary, DEI programs do not exist to make it possible for lesser qualified Black and Brown job applicants to take precedence over more qualified white ones. Rather, they exist to make sure that better qualified Black and Brown candidates get those jobs over lesser qualified white ones.
So what has happened? White men in the job marketplace with only a basic education have lost their place in line. They oppose DEI because they don’t want to have to be competent in order to get hired or promoted. Their problem is not with DEI, it is that they are no longer rewarded for simply being white and showing up.
#1PathForward
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