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Sorry I didn't have a column in the newspaper Friday. Black people are to blame.
Oh, did I say that out loud? Whoops. It's supposed to be unvoiced. I should have just pointed out that the newspaper has a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion effort, and let your imagination fill in the rest.
I need to work on the above if I hope to mimic the exact note of bone-deep yet tacit racism that President Donald Trump revelled in Thursday when discussing the tragic helicopter/plane collision over the Potomac, veering from his falsely pious evocation of thoughts and prayers for the victims, before he dove into his baseless accusations that the two Ds — Democrats and diversity — are to blame for the crash. Sixty-seven people died, and his minute of silence was followed by half an hour of baseless calumny. It would be shocking if we, you know, hadn't lost our capacity for shock years ago.
Pressed how he could say that when the investigation of the crash has just begun, the President of the United States replied:
"Because I have common sense.”
Good old common sense. No need to spell it out, but let's try. You just know that Black people aren't as skilled as white. You just know that trans soldiers degrade the military. You know that Jews are greedy, Muslims terrorists, and immigrants, criminals and parasites. You know people with disabilities can't do a good job at anything other than bagging groceries. No proof is necessary, and any contrary evidence is merely dismissed. Water off a duck's behind.
The sad thing — well, one of the many sad things — is there are valid reasons to be critical of DEI. I actually am a member of the DEI council at the paper, When I applied, I did so out of the exquisite sensitivity and devotion to fairness at which I excel.
"Better to be inside the tent pissing out," I told my wife, "than outside the tent pissing in."
The language I used applying to the program was more honeyed.
"While I am not a member of any of the groups that are typically considered under the umbrella of diversity, I've always had a sensitivity to such groups, particularly the LGBTQ community," I wrote. "The paper has always been very supportive — I wrote the first (and to this day, really the only mainstream newspaper look) at the Chicago transgender community in 1992. I'm just now completing a look at how the Sun-Times covered race over the past 75 years, and while it was subject to the limitations and prejudices of its times, all told the paper has always led rather than followed."
You'll notice I didn't say I'm Jewish. Jews, though certainly a traditionally oppressed group, have somehow lost our minority card. In part, I believe, because we tend to be white, and people buy the slurs against us. Why should the George Soros-funded octopus straddling the world, flailing its grasping tentacles, need a helping hand? DEI is about supporting worthy outcasts, not solidifying Shylock's grasp on his pound of flesh.
Despite this, my argument worked. Or maybe they just admitted everyone who applied. Either way, I was accepted, and attended the occasional meetings. Which put me in a position to notice Trump tearing out DEI programs root and branch from the federal government with more than the usual perspective of Americans alarmed seeing their institutions re-calibrated to suit the whims of a bigot and would-be demagogue.
Calling such programs "“radical and wasteful" Trump ordered all DEI-related employees to be put on paid leave by 5 p.m. his first Wednesday in office, in advance of being fired. Concern that any employee address inclusiveness in the workplace was so extreme the order warned against trying to shield such unworthies, demanding that agency heads quiz their underlings whether they “know of any efforts to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language.”
I actually agree with that first assertion. DEI programs are radical in the sense that for the majority of American history, organizations would merely bar employment of disfavored groups. There is no risk of untermenschen proving their worth if you never let them even try. When Chicago hosted the World Columbian Exposition in 1893, Ida B. Wells picketed the fair, where a Black could not be hired a janitor. In the 1920s, colleges struggled to not admit "too many" Jews, so as not to corrupt their student bodies, the way they fret over the proportions of Asian students today.
The Republican war against DEI is based on the premise that civil rights is over, the minorities won, that white Christians are the besieged community, and the situation must be set right by prying the fingers of these lesser folk from the ledge of acceptability. The thinking is: You can eat at the lunch counter at Woolworth's. So shut up already. The fact that Woolworth's is long gone is not a consideration.
And true, such efforts create winners and losers. And sometimes it seems that DEI is swapping one unfair system for another. All of that could be discussed, if the current administration were not deploying DEI as a kind of modern shorthand for an old racial slur.
Any valid complaint regarding DEI melts away when Trump is thundering that all such programs "divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination.”
Actually, it is the president who is dividing Americans by race — or rather, sticking a crowbar into the division and prying back and forth, widening the chasm.
Everyone harbors prejudice. Everyone exhibits discrimination of one sort or another at certain times and places— I wish we could grind that into people's heads. What I remember most distinctly from the first DEI meeting is this: I had vowed to just listen, to keep my yap closed — shutting up is an art form I struggle to master. But at one point "microaggressions" — small slights too minor to constitute discrimination but yet sting — were brought up.
"Older employees don't know what a microaggression is," someone said.
"Which itself is a microaggression!' I blurted out.
I'd like to say my point was made, my colleagues nodding, wiser thanks to my insight. But it wasn't. Old people, like Jews, are scorned so automatically nobody even considers it prejudice. And so the work continues.
Actually, it is the president who is dividing Americans by race — or rather, sticking a crowbar into the division and prying back and forth, widening the chasm.
Everyone harbors prejudice. Everyone exhibits discrimination of one sort or another at certain times and places— I wish we could grind that into people's heads. What I remember most distinctly from the first DEI meeting is this: I had vowed to just listen, to keep my yap closed — shutting up is an art form I struggle to master. But at one point "microaggressions" — small slights too minor to constitute discrimination but yet sting — were brought up.
"Older employees don't know what a microaggression is," someone said.
"Which itself is a microaggression!' I blurted out.
I'd like to say my point was made, my colleagues nodding, wiser thanks to my insight. But it wasn't. Old people, like Jews, are scorned so automatically nobody even considers it prejudice. And so the work continues.
In closing, I should point out that efforts at racial inclusion really did keep me from writing a column Friday. Because I worked a long day on the Martin Luther King Day holiday, rather than relax and contemplate our nation's progress, I asked to take a day off later on, rather than take extra holiday pay. My boss kindly reminded me I had that day off coming, so I took Friday. An outside observer might be forgiven for believing that this was entirely my doing — the decision to work, and to take time off. But that just means they're blind to the hidden hand of DEI machinations at work in our country today. DEI means nothing is ever your fault. There will be not a mistake made in the next four years that our monster president cannot lay at its feet.
"DEI as a kind of modern shorthand for a racial slur." - This sentiment was kind of jelling in my head, but you put it to words so precisely. It's a dog whistle, an offensive umbrella term for "those people", a wink and a nudge to like-minded people.
ReplyDeleteI feel like we all need a day off, just a day with no news, nothing out of the White House at least, so we can catch our breath. It's been less than two weeks, but so relentless, I'm just overwhelmed and exhausted. I guess that's part of the point, isn't it, to shock and awe the general populace into submission.
He will never shut up. Never. Not even for a day. it's all Trump, all the time, and it's always about him, just as it has been for almost a decade.. The orange spotlight remains focused on His Orangeness, every goddamn day. The rants and the posts and the tweets will never stop. He is the ultimate attention whore.
DeleteEvery day feels worse than the day before. What will he say and do tomorrow? Or the day after? Or the day after that? So sick of that bloated orange face, that voice, the whining and the complaining, the bloviating and the pontificating. No longer do I have nightmares when I go to sleep...I have them when I wake up.
Someone I read said shouting DEI is just another way to say the N word.
DeletePerhaps in the post above?
DeleteRe: the list of his prejudices implied by “because I have common sense,” I would add “because a woman can’t possibly be as competent as a man.” No doubt the parents of the female pilot killed in this tragic accident understandably fear that he would savage her reputation were her name disclosed. No low is too low for him.
ReplyDeleteWhen the ethos “don’t sweat the small stuff” was popular, we weren’t thinking about micro aggressions. I try not to sweat the small stuff because the big stuff hits us in the head like a frying pan every goddamn day.
ReplyDeleteMicroaggressions? How the hell do people manage to breathe let alone move about the physical world if they're viscerally freaked about minutiae?
DeleteSometimes it's not the size of the individual "stuff", but the collective amount of it and the frequency of its occurring. Like death by 1000 paper cuts. Small injustices and insults that might be easy to deal with in isolation can add up to an unbearable existence. And you never know if the careless straw you toss on top of the camel might be the last one.
DeleteI'm so depressed ...
ReplyDeleteThe arrogance and stupidity of him to say “because I have common sense “ He only has the “sense” to smell out an opportunity to cash in.
ReplyDeleteNeil, I think it's cool that you have a "boss" who cares enough to keep track of your comings and goings. I need to remind myself there are still folks filling the nominal role of boss here in the 21st Century, though I can't imagine a staffer at your level needing much in the way of "bossing." I rather see you checking in with each other every so often. Exchanges being a pleasant shorthand of sorts. That's the type of boss to have if one must have a boss at all.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the boss reminded him within the pay period besides otherwise the holiday pay would be required. But perhaps I’m too cynical.
DeleteCoey
I have lots of bosses, but usually those beyond my two immediate supervisors don't swoop down unless there's trouble. I think my immediate boss was more alert to my need to take that day off because I produced that two-page obit of Rich Hein on a day when I was, in theory, on vacation. No one assigned it to me — I just took it because I was the guy to do it. Being a journalist is a calling, and part of that is not fretting too much over schedules.
DeleteTwo weeks of lies.
ReplyDeleteDespicable nominees for cabinet positions, waived through by compliant Senate Neo-confederates.
Racism masked as sympathy for crash victims. Continuing assaults on the former administration.
Another plane crash, this one including a child returning home to Mexico. (No trump comments about that, so far as I know.
Purge of FBI employees and J6 prosecutors.
Elon Musk demanding to have access to the personal data on ALL recipients of money, including Social Security. That's probably the scariest to me personally.
What's in store for week three?
Whatever it is, it will be worse than weeks one and two.
DeleteOne of the less noticed headlines today is "Five asteroids are expected to make close approaches to Earth this weekend" and "A small chance that an asteroid may hit earth in the next decade." Of course, DEI will be held responsible, because there must always be someone to blame, and it's never our current Whiner in Chief.
ReplyDeletePresident IQ 73, has no common sense & never did. He's a con man. He only graduated from a university because his rich father paid that university millions to give him a degree & then his father gave him $400 million to play with. Somehow he managed to build a half dozen casinos & then do the impossible with those casinos, he bankrupted them!
ReplyDeleteExactly who in history has ever bankrupted six casinos?
And his opinion of Jews is simple, he actually said he likes the Jews who count his money for him!
And as an aside, I've given his press secretary a new name: Fraulein Josefa Goebbels, just like the Nazi propaganda minister she imitates daily, with nothing but lies out of her disgusting mouth!
Strong piece, Neil. Sensitive, yet sensible, as ever.
ReplyDeleteDiscussing actual DEI programs, their strengths and weaknesses, etc., is adopting Trump's framing. He uses DEI as code for the "n-word” in this news cycle, the only responsible thing is to denounce his racism and not be distracted.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked. Then, not surprised. I thought 67 deaths would be enough to cause Trump to speak appropriately. But there it was, Trump's vile racism, blaming and excuse making.
ReplyDeleteNeil, thanks for an excellent post, all very good points. The image of the president levering racial differences is exact. And it makes for a good cartoon.
Maybe I missed it, was there a Democratic response?
I hope he keeps doing press conferences.
Great article Neil. I'm interested to see what word Trump and his straight arm enthusiasts friends end up spamming when they tire of DEI. I'm sure Jews will get their own word again soon.
ReplyDeleteHe (and his cronies) will not have to battle or struggle to find one. They have plenty of source material from the original master....race... and ethnicity...have always been their targets of choice. He has already caused a furor with his use of so many dog-whistle words...which I won't repeat...about Asians, people of color, Hispanics, and Middle Eastern peoples.
DeleteIt's only a matter of time before he targets American Jews, the vast majority of whom are progressives. Most Jews despise him. Frankly, I was surprised they were not added to his Hate Parade the first time around. Perhaps his fellow New Yorker, Bibi Netanyahu, has had a strong influence on him...one of the few people who ever have.
I don't understand all the nuances and repercussions of DEI. I tend to pay more attention to who is offended by it, rather than the perceived offense. Partly to try to understand it better, but also to determine whether the aggrieved has a case. It seems to me there are far to many "aggrieved" who come from privilege and entitlement, who are so blinded by their bias they cant recognize that their own experiences are unavailable to to the average person. Then there are the aggrieved who have benefited from DEI, yet deeply resent it, because of the possible implication their success wasn't fully merited or earned. (think Clarence Thomas) . All this clamor to get rid of DEI in universities, without a word about legacy admissions rings hollow. Now McDonald's will provide Hispanic Scholarships, but wont consider Hispanic heritage when bestowing the award. I wonder if this is because there are angry, entitled people who fear they are being "left out" of opportunity, or if its because there are angry, entitled people who don't want "others" to succeed beyond themselves. Or maybe its something else entirely.
ReplyDeleteGrizz: Usually I post your comments, no questions asked, out of respect for your long track record. But the past two approach a line that I do not think it wise to cross, so I didn't post them. If you want to resubmit them, without suggesting certain individuals be dispatched in an extra-judicial fashion, I will be happy to post them. Sorry, but it'll be a long four years, and I don't want to show my neck to these people. I'm all for venting. Within limits.
ReplyDeleteLong four years, indeed! It hasn't even been two weeks and I already feel like Francis Scott Key, checking every AM to make sure our republic still stands. Grizz- please coin some good, insider code words for us. If TikTok can walk around in cute winter boots, EGD can do the walk, too. We want to protect our proprietor throughout our shared nightmare.
DeleteUnderstood, Mr. S. That was a mistake on my part. They were copied and pasted from Blue-tinged pages on Farcebook, where...at least for the moment...those Zuckers still allow some leeway for such suggestions. And there are countless similar ones, every day. There is a LOT of pure hatred for certain individuals out there...far more than one might ever have imagined.
DeleteStill, toning it down a notch might keep the Suits away. I always tend to think of EGD as no more than a grain of sand on the vast beaches of cyberspace, but there are eagle-eyed watch-birds above those sparkling sands, and you never know who might tip off the Thought Police. Will do.
No more than a grain indeed, though now that the winter has come, I am glad it is a space where people can gather, communicate, speak freely, within limits. When battling monsters, as Nietzsche reminds us, take care not to become a monster.
DeleteA little off topic, but the talk of bosses reminded me how fortunate I was to have had several swell bosses in my working years. I remember once needing to speak to our head man and stopping outside his open door to ask, "Are you free?" He looked up from what he was reading and replied, "I'm not free, but I'm reasonable. Come on in and sit."
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I socialize with my current editor and his wife. We go out to dinner, enjoy each other's company. Which is quite incredible.
DeleteWhich reminded me of your columns about Sherman Dilla Thomas, the South Side historian that ComEd lured out of a safe union job, only to fire him. And the two rules about the world of work...and bosses:Bingo. Rule #1 and Rule #2 of the Wonderful World of Working.
DeleteRule #1: You might be good buddies with your boss, and drink with them, and golf and fish with your boss...but when push comes to shove, as it so often does, your boss is just your boss. If you piss him off in any way, or if you piss off somebody higher on the totem pole, you're history. The deck is always stacked in his favor. It is wise to remember this.
Rule #2: Get it on paper. Always, always, get it in writing. Sherman's biggest mistake, by far, was believing a promise and a handshake, and not getting it in writing. Maybe if he had, a lawyer and a judge might get him a nice chunk of change, so he would never have to cry again.
but Dilla just landed an even better job at DuSable Black History museum, and I believe Mr S's coverage of his predicament played some part in that fortunate transaction. So- good things can arise out of the bad. At least sometimes.
DeleteJust reading through the Sunday Sun Times, and I saw that columnist Gene Lyons was writing his swan song; his last column, mostly because of our current president. I guess he's a little older, and as he explained, life is too short to spend the next four years commenting on everything this guy does. Perfectly understandable, although disappointing, because I really enjoyed his writing. Even though I've tried to feel that, awful as he is, day to day life won't change that much, I guess we're going to see more and more good people disappear.
ReplyDeleteTrump saying he has common sense is quite possibly the strongest emetic known to mankind.
ReplyDelete