I agree that meritocracy is the gold standard and that diversity programs usually have problems in direct proportion to how much concrete action they actually t

I agree that meritocracy is the gold standard and that diversity programs usually have problems in direct proportion to how much concrete action they actually take. However, equity is obviously good, and is not mutually exclusive with meritocracy. You kind of imply agreement there, using quotes to imply that people strive for a false kind of equity, but then you say "no, I do not believe that we need to make up for an 'unequal start to life'", which is exactly the type of equity that is compatible with meritocracy. It's the key part of your post, but it doesn't really stand on its own without some kind of explanation. It's kind of like saying, "There is no such thing as an 8-foot-tall bird. And no, ostriches don't count."