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Do you think having different opinions, experiences, and backgrounds is something that should be left out of decision making? Can you see any value in making s

Do you think having different opinions, experiences, and backgrounds is something that should be left out of decision making? Can you see any value in making sure the army is diverse to make sure it still can recruit, integrate, and retain people from all over the US and not just people from one specific background? This is honestly a very grey area and could be taken too far, but there seems to be clear benefits to having armed forces that everyone feels represents them. And that's worth at least some impact on effectiveness, right?

angelzen 5y ago
There are only 2 stable fixpoints: meritocracy and sectarianism, with meritocracy being merely metastable. Trouble is, sectarian armed force don't win wars. At worst they engage in civil war. Your logic is unassailable, sadly few people bother to acquiesce the consequences.
vimy 5y ago
A rich black man and a rich white man have more in common, in thoughts and experiences, than a rich white man and a poor white man. Class is so much more important than race yet the Western world, especially the US, is obsessed by race.
- ceejayoz 5y ago
  They’re heavily linked in the US. https://money.yahoo.com/black-americans-net-worth-is-one-seventh-of-whites-203317473.html https://money.yahoo.com/black-americans-net-worth-is-one-sev... > The average net worth of Black families is $142,330 — or just one-seventh of the $980,550 in wealth accumulated by white Americans, according to a new study from LendingTree that draws on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2020 Economic Policy Institute report, and various Federal Reserve reports. > The median net worth of both shows similar disparities. The median wealth for Black families is $24,100, or about one-eighth of that for white families at $189,100, according to the study.
- wolverine876 5y ago
  What basis do you have for saying that? The African-Americans I've talked to and whom I've read often say the opposite, and I haven't heard any agree. What I hear is, 'it doesn't matter who you are or what you've done, you are always just Black in the eyes of the police (and society)', and that there is often no way for an observer to distinguish rich from poor (as if that should matter anyway). For example, African-Americans driving expensive cars are pulled over and suspected of being drug dealers. I've read many stories of African-Americans being pulled over for nothing - an experience I've never had.
  - vimy 5y ago
    No doubt that still happens but I don’t know how common that is? There is a lot of race-baiting going on in the press which may give a skewed perspective of reality. For example, research shows that white police officers aren’t more likely to shoot a black suspect than police officers from another race. [1] But that’s not what the media tells us. The constant focus on race also makes people paranoid. “Was that guy just a dick or was he racist?” But that is not the point. A black man that went to Harvard and is now working for Goldman Sachs has more in common with a white Goldman Sachs employee than with a black factory worker. They read the same kind of books and newspapers, drive the same kind of car, live in the same kind of neighborhood, … [1]https://www.pnas.org/content/116/32/15877 https://www.pnas.org/content/116/32/15877
    - ceejayoz 5y ago
      > A black man that went to Harvard and is now working for Goldman Sachs has more in common with a white Goldman Sachs employee than with a black factory worker. Probably not when they're pulled over, but ignoring the difficulty getting to that point is a bit silly. https://fortune.com/2021/04/20/goldman-sachs-reveals-black-workforce-numbers-for-the-first-time/ https://fortune.com/2021/04/20/goldman-sachs-reveals-black-w... "Inside Goldman Sachs Group Inc., 1,548 U.S. executives, senior officials and managers run the bank. Of that group, 24 are Black men and 25 are Black women." 3%, versus about 15% of the US population.
    - wolverine876 5y ago
barnesto 5y ago
It's the not Armed Forces to make sure it's diverse in the terms you're talking about. The first thing they do in boot camp is breakdown the individual and create a team player. It doesn't matter what color you are, where you are from, you are all on the same team. Your life literally depends on the person next you. If you remove the colorblind meritocracy that military should be you are putting everyone's lives in danger. Diversity in the antithesis of what a sound fighting force is looking for.

angelzen 5y ago

There are only 2 stable fixpoints: meritocracy and sectarianism, with meritocracy being merely metastable. Trouble is, sectarian armed force don't win wars. At worst they engage in civil war. Your logic is unassailable, sadly few people bother to acquiesce the consequences.

vimy 5y ago

A rich black man and a rich white man have more in common, in thoughts and experiences, than a rich white man and a poor white man. Class is so much more important than race yet the Western world, especially the US, is obsessed by race.

ceejayoz 5y ago
They’re heavily linked in the US. https://money.yahoo.com/black-americans-net-worth-is-one-seventh-of-whites-203317473.html https://money.yahoo.com/black-americans-net-worth-is-one-sev... > The average net worth of Black families is $142,330 — or just one-seventh of the $980,550 in wealth accumulated by white Americans, according to a new study from LendingTree that draws on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2020 Economic Policy Institute report, and various Federal Reserve reports. > The median net worth of both shows similar disparities. The median wealth for Black families is $24,100, or about one-eighth of that for white families at $189,100, according to the study.
wolverine876 5y ago
What basis do you have for saying that? The African-Americans I've talked to and whom I've read often say the opposite, and I haven't heard any agree. What I hear is, 'it doesn't matter who you are or what you've done, you are always just Black in the eyes of the police (and society)', and that there is often no way for an observer to distinguish rich from poor (as if that should matter anyway). For example, African-Americans driving expensive cars are pulled over and suspected of being drug dealers. I've read many stories of African-Americans being pulled over for nothing - an experience I've never had.
- vimy 5y ago
  No doubt that still happens but I don’t know how common that is? There is a lot of race-baiting going on in the press which may give a skewed perspective of reality. For example, research shows that white police officers aren’t more likely to shoot a black suspect than police officers from another race. [1] But that’s not what the media tells us. The constant focus on race also makes people paranoid. “Was that guy just a dick or was he racist?” But that is not the point. A black man that went to Harvard and is now working for Goldman Sachs has more in common with a white Goldman Sachs employee than with a black factory worker. They read the same kind of books and newspapers, drive the same kind of car, live in the same kind of neighborhood, … [1]https://www.pnas.org/content/116/32/15877 https://www.pnas.org/content/116/32/15877
  - ceejayoz 5y ago
    > A black man that went to Harvard and is now working for Goldman Sachs has more in common with a white Goldman Sachs employee than with a black factory worker. Probably not when they're pulled over, but ignoring the difficulty getting to that point is a bit silly. https://fortune.com/2021/04/20/goldman-sachs-reveals-black-workforce-numbers-for-the-first-time/ https://fortune.com/2021/04/20/goldman-sachs-reveals-black-w... "Inside Goldman Sachs Group Inc., 1,548 U.S. executives, senior officials and managers run the bank. Of that group, 24 are Black men and 25 are Black women." 3%, versus about 15% of the US population.
  - wolverine876 5y ago

barnesto 5y ago

It's the not Armed Forces to make sure it's diverse in the terms you're talking about. The first thing they do in boot camp is breakdown the individual and create a team player. It doesn't matter what color you are, where you are from, you are all on the same team. Your life literally depends on the person next you. If you remove the colorblind meritocracy that military should be you are putting everyone's lives in danger. Diversity in the antithesis of what a sound fighting force is looking for.