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> It feels like the US is overstretching its own diversity. Something about this line is bothering me. In the US, we're very diverse sure, but also that diver

> It feels like the US is overstretching its own diversity. Something about this line is bothering me. In the US, we're very diverse sure, but also that diversity comes with deep history of violence, struggle, systemic oppression, etc. To many, current movements might come off like they're overstepping, but so much about our culture is so deeply steeped in the opposite. So much of our daily life has been structured around old deeply racist systems and as a population we're struggling to come to terms with the contradictions of concepts we were taught with the reality. We're taught we're a melting pot of cultures, yet there are so many atrocities in living memory that parts of the population wish would be simply forgotten. So there is the counter swing of the "woke"(I hate that word and the complete corruption of the concept), which is an attempt to bring these subconscious ideas into the conscious level so we can think about them and confront them, rather than let them continue to simmer. The overarching goal isn't to make all these things the standard, but to overshoot so that when the cultural tendon relaxes, it falls to a better place. The "Woke" movements is an attempt to fight a cultural virus, and the remnants of the virus does not like it and gets defensive, and informs other parts of the body that this medicine is actually a virus in of itself. The goal isn't that the medicine becomes a permanent fixture, but that it brings to light the virus and allows the society to understand how to extinguish it.

wayfinder 3y ago
Nah I agree with OP The problem isn’t the deep history of discrimination. I consider that something that created a lot of growth. The problem is discrimination is natural and it is only fought with diversity but there is no such place that is truly diverse. I live in, by world standards, a diverse part of the LA metro area. Except there’s like no Black people. Now if I go to a more Black-dominated part of LA, there might not be Koreans. Now if I take the entirety of LA, it will have both Black people and Koreans and maybe you could call it diverse? Except there will be very few Nigerians or Kazakhstanis. The issue is that I cannot speak for Nigerians or Kazakhstanis however hard I try. It’s like an electrician who just read some books but has never worked with an actual electrician. My attempts to accommodate a group of people I don’t know will be completely fake. They will know I don’t know a single Nigerian or Kazakhstani. So when people try to be woke, it usually comes from that level of inexperience. It’s not real diversity. It’s that electrician trying their best but doing it all wrong.
- specialist 3y ago
  You're talking about something different than u/MSFT_Edging. > The issue is that I cannot speak for Nigerians or Kazakhstanis however hard I try. Yup. You demonstrate an awareness, a conscientiousness, that's too rare. I've been in gatherings (eg board meetings) where someone will presume to speak on behalf of others. While one of those others is sitting right there, trying to be heard. Not helpful. And super awkward. Which reminds me... That All Gas No Breaks guy did a terrific segment about those "antifa" & "BLM" protests in Portland Oregon. Standard in person interviews with a bunch of bored white kids just looking for a fight. Then the genius bit: No Breaks sought out blacks and asked them about the protests. He just let's them talk, in that great way that he does. Punchline: the blacks interviewed stated the belligerents a) were missing the point (to listen to black people) and b) were making it that much harder for blacks to be heard. Typical.
aj7 3y ago
Well put.

wayfinder 3y ago

Nah I agree with OP The problem isn’t the deep history of discrimination. I consider that something that created a lot of growth. The problem is discrimination is natural and it is only fought with diversity but there is no such place that is truly diverse. I live in, by world standards, a diverse part of the LA metro area. Except there’s like no Black people. Now if I go to a more Black-dominated part of LA, there might not be Koreans. Now if I take the entirety of LA, it will have both Black people and Koreans and maybe you could call it diverse? Except there will be very few Nigerians or Kazakhstanis. The issue is that I cannot speak for Nigerians or Kazakhstanis however hard I try. It’s like an electrician who just read some books but has never worked with an actual electrician. My attempts to accommodate a group of people I don’t know will be completely fake. They will know I don’t know a single Nigerian or Kazakhstani. So when people try to be woke, it usually comes from that level of inexperience. It’s not real diversity. It’s that electrician trying their best but doing it all wrong.

specialist 3y ago
You're talking about something different than u/MSFT_Edging. > The issue is that I cannot speak for Nigerians or Kazakhstanis however hard I try. Yup. You demonstrate an awareness, a conscientiousness, that's too rare. I've been in gatherings (eg board meetings) where someone will presume to speak on behalf of others. While one of those others is sitting right there, trying to be heard. Not helpful. And super awkward. Which reminds me... That All Gas No Breaks guy did a terrific segment about those "antifa" & "BLM" protests in Portland Oregon. Standard in person interviews with a bunch of bored white kids just looking for a fight. Then the genius bit: No Breaks sought out blacks and asked them about the protests. He just let's them talk, in that great way that he does. Punchline: the blacks interviewed stated the belligerents a) were missing the point (to listen to black people) and b) were making it that much harder for blacks to be heard. Typical.

aj7 3y ago

Well put.