Racism fits squarely within the mainstream of US political history, from slavery through the Civil War, from Reconstruction through Jim Crow, from the civil rights revolution to the MAGA movement.
Your article is a nice explanation of how today's racism is a continuance of American history. You even mention the Dred Scott decision of the supreme Court, but you fail to acknowledge the critical role supreme Court decisions played in implementing Jim Crow. The supreme Court has consistently represented wealth and privilege from the beginning, and nothing has changed. https://nevinhoraceoliphant.substack.com/p/our-constitutional-republic?r=3sr22y
What I don't understand is the sense of "constant lack and fear" that Americans have despite being the most powerful empire in the history of the world. There is a constant state of alertness and the need to create enemies....such a sad legacy for what could have been a shining Empire.
If the Fulvous Fascist really wants competence over DEI, he should start with his cabinet, which is a mix of incompetence, moral and intellectual cowardice, and unfitness.
Whom am I kidding? All that matters to the First Felon, who has neither the will nor the ability to govern, is fawning loyalty.
Those who think taking over Gaza is a "good" idea should be aware that the original America First advocates were not looking at racism per se. They were specifically antisemitic. Rachel Maddow's "Prequel" is required reading to understand what American First means.
How can any honest person reject the values of diversity, equity and inclusion? And using them as an important lens to sort out the bigotry, racism, xenophobia and misogyny the US is so well known for?? DEI in its pure, just form wanted two things - 1) for challenging tasks/jobs with specific required skills, make sure it truly is a meritocracy, and that required tests are actually relevant to the job; and stop giving candidates who happen to fit stereotypes/have social connections to elites an unfair advantage! 2) entry requirements for many other opportunities that require judgement, awareness/comfort with of diversity of society, initiative, resilience and perspective should not favor the dominant class or culture or exclusively utilize exams (like SAT scores) that reflect upper class, privileged, elite sensibilities and experiences.
DJT is also a product of the United States and its support of the various colonizers in the world. This includes the supporters and products of Apartheid South Africa, now busy dismantling our decades of work in the government re Universal Civil Rights.
We must resist and try to stop them before it is too late. The Republican party must understand that they will be next. History has shown us that the ones who are silent and complicit are next and would suffer the same fate.
Why are you Americans so fixated on this race bullshit? Biologically, Homo sapiens are 99.9% genetically the same. There’s no empirical evidence that "race" even exists in any real, scientific sense. No one has ever come up with a clear definition of race. What are you gonna do—define it by skin color? Like, "Hey, if this guy’s skin is exactly RGB #8B4513, he’s Black, but add one point of red and suddenly he’s Hispanic." It’s retarded. Since you can’t define it objectively, the whole concept is just abstract garbage with zero merit.
Now, onto DEI—it's one of the most atrocious ideas to ever hit society. Meritocracy is the only way forward. I don’t care if every top manager is a transgender lesbian Black Inuit. If they are the best at their job, they should absolutely be there. That’s how you build progress.
But if I’m better than someone, yet they get the job because they have just the right amount of melanin to block UV light better than I do—then yeah, I’m going to be pissed. It has nothing to do with their identity. It's about who’s the most capable. This whole idea of making things "fair" through race quotas and nonsense like DEI cripples real progress.
Frankly, death to DEI might be the best thing the U.S. can do. Replace it with true meritocracy. Will it happen? Probably not. But hey, a guy can dream, right?
DEI is just about actively LOOKING for transgender lesbian Black Inuit's if they happen to be the most competent. Americans have been brainwashed into thinking DEI is the same as Affirmative Action. It is not.
So, if I understand correctly, DEI is about finding the best person within a marginalized group who meets some criteria. It doesn’t matter if there are 50 other people who are simply the best overall, because this process focuses on the best of the marginalized, not the best of the best.
This is exactly why people take issue with DEI—it shifts the focus from pure competence to identity-based filtering, effectively undermining true meritocracy.
No, that is NOT DEI. It means looking at people who are within a marginalized group who can COMPETE with more usual traditional recruits. And may the best WO/MAN win. YOU are confusing it with Affirmative Action, which had different goals--those you describe.
Also remember that "most competent" involves a lot of things. It is perfectly acceptable to reject the fastest data entry person if he has a long history of sexual assaults on co-workers, for example. Or is just a malignant narcissist.
As a secondary aim, it tries to educate the workforce not to be racist or misogynist assholes. As a woman in a male dominated profession (not job, profession) I encountered LOADS of the latter. I "identify" with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who described having exactly the same experience I had over and over. In a meeting you make a suggestion. Everyone ignores it. I mean utter silence. Then some man makes the same suggestion, often in the very same words. Fulsome praise.
I have a real issue with forceful social engineering. My country experienced 40 years of this kind of ideological control, and the long-term effects have been damaging. You can’t engineer a better society by policing thoughts and behavior—it doesn’t work.
There’s no argument that serious offenders and harmful behaviors—like harassment and abuse—need to be dealt with swiftly. But what I can't accept is this overreaction to every minor issue. Instead of focusing on the 5% of real offenders, the system starts policing everyone for trivial matters. This doesn't create a healthy environment; it just builds fear, resentment, and paranoia.
People get ignored in meetings or overlooked all the time. It’s not always part of some grand, systemic conspiracy. Sometimes it’s just human nature or bad luck. Yes, assholes exist—but that doesn’t mean you should redesign the entire system to cater to the worst-case scenarios.
And this auto-censorship people push? I hate it. I’m fat because, well, I’m fat. If someone calls me fat, how is that offensive? It’s just pointing out facts. It is what it is. We have to live in reality, not some sanitized version where the truth is offensive.
Says one who has never experienced it. Most people don’t have their ignored suggestions repeated by men almost verbatim. How EXACTLY is teaching people to stop being assholes—and believe me, it gets way worse than what happened to me—and looking a a broad range of talent before deciding “Forceful Social Engineering.”
I think you are mixing up DEI with various "PC" concepts, which were never part of DEI training. They were mostly "policies" invented by college students and involved things like "trigger warnings" and "microagressions." I agree with some of the things these groups wanted, but disagree with a whole lot more. I'm pretty sure they were never part of any government initiative, though some overzealous folks may have raised them. But in case you haven't noticed, people misapply rules and even suggestions all the time, in all parts of life. That doesn't mean the rule or suggestions are inherently bad, just think that stupidity is an equal opportunity and all-party phenomenon.
Yes: let us dream -- together. But respectfully, perhaps a bit of historical context may help, as a starting point?
For the record, the DEI industry got its start as an effort to upend the white male supremacy that stood vigorously against meritocracy -- and also, decency, dignity and common sense -- for most of the history of the United States of America. It got its start in the United States Supreme Court's opinion in the case of University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978). In Bakke, Justice Lewis Powell -- a Southern Democrat from Virginia who, history shows, was no *particular* friend of minoritized peoples and their causes -- argued in an opinion signed by a plurality on the Court at the time that "diversity" was a sufficiently central and important value that it would justify University efforts to ensure a well-rounded and racially integrated student body. In other words, the entire industry originated in the era following the Civil Rights Movement's efforts to repair the harms actually caused by white supremacy in our legal and political system for years. Quotas were not allowed in Bakke, but diversity efforts could be.
In this opinion, it was Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell -- incidentally, a White Southern male Justice, but who's counting? -- who identified and uplifted racial diversity -- all kinds of diversity, but including racial diversity -- as a truly important value for public University educators in the United States. And thus was born an industry. Again, all of this happened in the wake of efforts to dis-establish the systemic privileges that flowed to Whites for generations as part of the system of racial segregation that the Supreme Court had previously endorsed (in earnest following the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896).
Grounded in more of the relevant history, I say yes: let us dream on, together, from here.
That people of color (or other than of the Christian religion) could vote for these people leads me to believe that “this” will not pass easily. China is still communist, Russia is still treating their people as cannon fodder, & the rest of the world doesn’t seem much better.
Your article is a nice explanation of how today's racism is a continuance of American history. You even mention the Dred Scott decision of the supreme Court, but you fail to acknowledge the critical role supreme Court decisions played in implementing Jim Crow. The supreme Court has consistently represented wealth and privilege from the beginning, and nothing has changed. https://nevinhoraceoliphant.substack.com/p/our-constitutional-republic?r=3sr22y
What I don't understand is the sense of "constant lack and fear" that Americans have despite being the most powerful empire in the history of the world. There is a constant state of alertness and the need to create enemies....such a sad legacy for what could have been a shining Empire.
I'm 47 and this has been the MO of the GOP my entire life. Trump is just Reagan without the coded language.
If the Fulvous Fascist really wants competence over DEI, he should start with his cabinet, which is a mix of incompetence, moral and intellectual cowardice, and unfitness.
Whom am I kidding? All that matters to the First Felon, who has neither the will nor the ability to govern, is fawning loyalty.
Those who think taking over Gaza is a "good" idea should be aware that the original America First advocates were not looking at racism per se. They were specifically antisemitic. Rachel Maddow's "Prequel" is required reading to understand what American First means.
How can any honest person reject the values of diversity, equity and inclusion? And using them as an important lens to sort out the bigotry, racism, xenophobia and misogyny the US is so well known for?? DEI in its pure, just form wanted two things - 1) for challenging tasks/jobs with specific required skills, make sure it truly is a meritocracy, and that required tests are actually relevant to the job; and stop giving candidates who happen to fit stereotypes/have social connections to elites an unfair advantage! 2) entry requirements for many other opportunities that require judgement, awareness/comfort with of diversity of society, initiative, resilience and perspective should not favor the dominant class or culture or exclusively utilize exams (like SAT scores) that reflect upper class, privileged, elite sensibilities and experiences.
DJT is also a product of the United States and its support of the various colonizers in the world. This includes the supporters and products of Apartheid South Africa, now busy dismantling our decades of work in the government re Universal Civil Rights.
We must resist and try to stop them before it is too late. The Republican party must understand that they will be next. History has shown us that the ones who are silent and complicit are next and would suffer the same fate.
Why are you Americans so fixated on this race bullshit? Biologically, Homo sapiens are 99.9% genetically the same. There’s no empirical evidence that "race" even exists in any real, scientific sense. No one has ever come up with a clear definition of race. What are you gonna do—define it by skin color? Like, "Hey, if this guy’s skin is exactly RGB #8B4513, he’s Black, but add one point of red and suddenly he’s Hispanic." It’s retarded. Since you can’t define it objectively, the whole concept is just abstract garbage with zero merit.
Now, onto DEI—it's one of the most atrocious ideas to ever hit society. Meritocracy is the only way forward. I don’t care if every top manager is a transgender lesbian Black Inuit. If they are the best at their job, they should absolutely be there. That’s how you build progress.
But if I’m better than someone, yet they get the job because they have just the right amount of melanin to block UV light better than I do—then yeah, I’m going to be pissed. It has nothing to do with their identity. It's about who’s the most capable. This whole idea of making things "fair" through race quotas and nonsense like DEI cripples real progress.
Frankly, death to DEI might be the best thing the U.S. can do. Replace it with true meritocracy. Will it happen? Probably not. But hey, a guy can dream, right?
DEI is just about actively LOOKING for transgender lesbian Black Inuit's if they happen to be the most competent. Americans have been brainwashed into thinking DEI is the same as Affirmative Action. It is not.
So, if I understand correctly, DEI is about finding the best person within a marginalized group who meets some criteria. It doesn’t matter if there are 50 other people who are simply the best overall, because this process focuses on the best of the marginalized, not the best of the best.
This is exactly why people take issue with DEI—it shifts the focus from pure competence to identity-based filtering, effectively undermining true meritocracy.
No, that is NOT DEI. It means looking at people who are within a marginalized group who can COMPETE with more usual traditional recruits. And may the best WO/MAN win. YOU are confusing it with Affirmative Action, which had different goals--those you describe.
Also remember that "most competent" involves a lot of things. It is perfectly acceptable to reject the fastest data entry person if he has a long history of sexual assaults on co-workers, for example. Or is just a malignant narcissist.
As a secondary aim, it tries to educate the workforce not to be racist or misogynist assholes. As a woman in a male dominated profession (not job, profession) I encountered LOADS of the latter. I "identify" with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who described having exactly the same experience I had over and over. In a meeting you make a suggestion. Everyone ignores it. I mean utter silence. Then some man makes the same suggestion, often in the very same words. Fulsome praise.
I have a real issue with forceful social engineering. My country experienced 40 years of this kind of ideological control, and the long-term effects have been damaging. You can’t engineer a better society by policing thoughts and behavior—it doesn’t work.
There’s no argument that serious offenders and harmful behaviors—like harassment and abuse—need to be dealt with swiftly. But what I can't accept is this overreaction to every minor issue. Instead of focusing on the 5% of real offenders, the system starts policing everyone for trivial matters. This doesn't create a healthy environment; it just builds fear, resentment, and paranoia.
People get ignored in meetings or overlooked all the time. It’s not always part of some grand, systemic conspiracy. Sometimes it’s just human nature or bad luck. Yes, assholes exist—but that doesn’t mean you should redesign the entire system to cater to the worst-case scenarios.
And this auto-censorship people push? I hate it. I’m fat because, well, I’m fat. If someone calls me fat, how is that offensive? It’s just pointing out facts. It is what it is. We have to live in reality, not some sanitized version where the truth is offensive.
Says one who has never experienced it. Most people don’t have their ignored suggestions repeated by men almost verbatim. How EXACTLY is teaching people to stop being assholes—and believe me, it gets way worse than what happened to me—and looking a a broad range of talent before deciding “Forceful Social Engineering.”
I think you are mixing up DEI with various "PC" concepts, which were never part of DEI training. They were mostly "policies" invented by college students and involved things like "trigger warnings" and "microagressions." I agree with some of the things these groups wanted, but disagree with a whole lot more. I'm pretty sure they were never part of any government initiative, though some overzealous folks may have raised them. But in case you haven't noticed, people misapply rules and even suggestions all the time, in all parts of life. That doesn't mean the rule or suggestions are inherently bad, just think that stupidity is an equal opportunity and all-party phenomenon.
Yes: let us dream -- together. But respectfully, perhaps a bit of historical context may help, as a starting point?
For the record, the DEI industry got its start as an effort to upend the white male supremacy that stood vigorously against meritocracy -- and also, decency, dignity and common sense -- for most of the history of the United States of America. It got its start in the United States Supreme Court's opinion in the case of University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978). In Bakke, Justice Lewis Powell -- a Southern Democrat from Virginia who, history shows, was no *particular* friend of minoritized peoples and their causes -- argued in an opinion signed by a plurality on the Court at the time that "diversity" was a sufficiently central and important value that it would justify University efforts to ensure a well-rounded and racially integrated student body. In other words, the entire industry originated in the era following the Civil Rights Movement's efforts to repair the harms actually caused by white supremacy in our legal and political system for years. Quotas were not allowed in Bakke, but diversity efforts could be.
In this opinion, it was Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell -- incidentally, a White Southern male Justice, but who's counting? -- who identified and uplifted racial diversity -- all kinds of diversity, but including racial diversity -- as a truly important value for public University educators in the United States. And thus was born an industry. Again, all of this happened in the wake of efforts to dis-establish the systemic privileges that flowed to Whites for generations as part of the system of racial segregation that the Supreme Court had previously endorsed (in earnest following the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896).
Grounded in more of the relevant history, I say yes: let us dream on, together, from here.
That people of color (or other than of the Christian religion) could vote for these people leads me to believe that “this” will not pass easily. China is still communist, Russia is still treating their people as cannon fodder, & the rest of the world doesn’t seem much better.