8 ms·

Actually this pandering to diversity fanatics is a pointless endeavour -- all this ingratiating just wastes people's time while normalizing racism. We used to

by ihsw 10y ago

Actually this pandering to diversity fanatics is a pointless endeavour -- all this ingratiating just wastes people's time while normalizing racism. We used to teach kids to be colorblind but now we're teaching them to see nothing but color. It's a sad state of affairs.

forgetsusername 10y ago
>We used to teach kids to be colorblind but now we're teaching them to see nothing but color. I don't think either method worked.
gumby 10y ago
In an ideal world you would be correct and I hope nobody would disagree with your ideal desire (well, I know some do). The reality, however, is still far from there. The point of diversity programs is not to accentuate the differences (although it can have that as a second order side effect), but simply to increase the rate at which these barriers break down. There are plenty of studies that show that people who are around others who are "different" (whatever the dimension: body shape/color, religion, political views, etc) in general stop being bothered by the differences. So it's in everybody's interest to try to get more of that. And in the long term it's good for business, even if it may or may not be in the short term -- but why should't corporations invest in the long term?
- ihsw 10y ago
  It's not in everybody's best interests to change some people's minds and "steer society" in a different direction by breaking down barriers. The blowback from trying to make people stop being bothered by differences is real and there are countless examples of it around the world and throughout history. "Live and let live" is more than just a banal platitude, it's a rule that's useful in keeping society functioning. Throwing radically different folks together and telling them to accept each-other is a fool's errand.
  - linkregister 10y ago
    "Live and let live" is a rule that works except when a minority is kept from pursuing opportunity. The job of the EEOC is to point out when businesses systematically prevent a particular group (sometimes white men!) from an equal opportunity to succeed. "Live and let live" is not a universal maxim. It was the primary argument in opposition of federal government enforcement against segregation.
  - gumby 10y ago
    > Throwing radically different folks together and telling them to accept each-other is a fool's errand. Fortunately the facts are against you. Whether it's Boston bussing (I lived through it) or the unremarkableness of women in business, military or government, or removing restrictions on marriage, acceptance demonstrably comes via contact. There's still a long way to go but things have improved a lot. Just for me: I was born in a country with statutory restrictions on people of different "races". When I came to the US for the first time my parents drove north from Washington DC because had we looked for a hotel in VA my parents would have had to stay in different ones. That's inconceivable now. And frankly we all have better things (from wifi to medicines to books plays and movies) because more people than before have the opportunity to participate. Shoving some of them down hurts everyone.

by ihsw 10y ago

forgetsusername 10y ago

>We used to teach kids to be colorblind but now we're teaching them to see nothing but color. I don't think either method worked.

gumby 10y ago

In an ideal world you would be correct and I hope nobody would disagree with your ideal desire (well, I know some do). The reality, however, is still far from there. The point of diversity programs is not to accentuate the differences (although it can have that as a second order side effect), but simply to increase the rate at which these barriers break down. There are plenty of studies that show that people who are around others who are "different" (whatever the dimension: body shape/color, religion, political views, etc) in general stop being bothered by the differences. So it's in everybody's interest to try to get more of that. And in the long term it's good for business, even if it may or may not be in the short term -- but why should't corporations invest in the long term?

ihsw 10y ago
It's not in everybody's best interests to change some people's minds and "steer society" in a different direction by breaking down barriers. The blowback from trying to make people stop being bothered by differences is real and there are countless examples of it around the world and throughout history. "Live and let live" is more than just a banal platitude, it's a rule that's useful in keeping society functioning. Throwing radically different folks together and telling them to accept each-other is a fool's errand.
- linkregister 10y ago
  "Live and let live" is a rule that works except when a minority is kept from pursuing opportunity. The job of the EEOC is to point out when businesses systematically prevent a particular group (sometimes white men!) from an equal opportunity to succeed. "Live and let live" is not a universal maxim. It was the primary argument in opposition of federal government enforcement against segregation.
- gumby 10y ago
  > Throwing radically different folks together and telling them to accept each-other is a fool's errand. Fortunately the facts are against you. Whether it's Boston bussing (I lived through it) or the unremarkableness of women in business, military or government, or removing restrictions on marriage, acceptance demonstrably comes via contact. There's still a long way to go but things have improved a lot. Just for me: I was born in a country with statutory restrictions on people of different "races". When I came to the US for the first time my parents drove north from Washington DC because had we looked for a hotel in VA my parents would have had to stay in different ones. That's inconceivable now. And frankly we all have better things (from wifi to medicines to books plays and movies) because more people than before have the opportunity to participate. Shoving some of them down hurts everyone.