FRIDAY THOUGHTS: DEI HIRE?

“DEI hire” seems to be the newest camouflage for one of the oldest slurs.

It takes a special brand of entitlement, arrogance, insecurity, and delusion to minimize another person’s qualifications or accomplishments, when one’s own achievements embarrassingly pale in comparison. 

My parents taught the virtue of applauding others. It’s really okay to see the good in, admire, encourage, and genuinely congratulate others. When the receipts, evidence, and documentation are right in their faces to peruse, however, there are those who just can’t concede that others are quite worthy of their flowers.

How is it so easily assumed that someone couldn’t have possibly studied and worked to achieve their educational and career goals? When the narrative is challenged, it seems to be the mission of some, to find a fault—or make up one, if one can’t be found. The frantic amount of deep-sea fishing and diving into The Sea of Forgetfulness, to find even the most microscopic creature that will tank or erase a person’s life’s work, and somehow prove their ineligibility, is the effort of the painfully insecure, and woefully delusional.

The hatred and gaul required to dismiss others, and suggest they are neither suitable, nor reasonable for a particular position, based on racist, sexist metrics, or one’s own limited experience with other human beings, is laughable. 

How, and what DO people learn of others who don’t look like them? What information have they been fed? What limitations are they taught at mother’s knee, to apply to others? What broad brush were they given, that makes it either too painful, mind blowing, or impossible to fathom that someone is actually quite competent, talented, learned, qualified, accomplished, or proficient? How many hurdles and hoops are enough? What motivates some to automatically render others inferior, and constantly change criteria and move goalposts?

What is it about a particular qualified professional, that’s so frightening? Shouldn’t organizations, citizens, and consumers want someone at the helm, in the room, or on the case, who is decent, ethical and intuitive, doesn’t exude ignorance, does everything impeccably, deserves every invitation, delivers educational innovation, discusses equality intelligently, is driven, experienced, and involved, doggedly exhibits integrity, delivers exceptional ideas, doesn’t emulate idiocy, decimates egregious information, demonstrates effective ideas, denotes effortless ingenuity, and DARES EVERY IMP who attempts to prevent or destroy the unity, equality, equity, inclusiveness, fairness, and actual exceptionalism that could be had in every field, workplace and institution, if ALL proven qualified individuals were welcomed to the table—and not given collapsible seats? 

What answers could we already have; what discoveries have been delayed; what solutions have been forfeited, because those who held them were excluded from participation?

 It’s fascinating how mediocrity and ignorance is tolerated, lauded, justified, defended, and even preferred, simply to avoid admitting that excellence, knowledge, and competence exist where narrow minded people pray it doesn’t. To resign that others should be enthusiastically included, for the benefit of everyone, would mean challenging everything they’ve ever known. 

The disconnect and internal fight that occurs when some throws out “DEI”, as the explanation for the presence of competence, is visible. They surmise, “Surely there was some impropriety, otherwise, how did that person get the job?” Their faces testify of their small mindedness, and even loathing. Their discomfort screams what they won’t, and can’t say out loud, and in public: “How did that person get the job? Who do they know? Who did they pay? They must have cheated! What random, no-name school did they barely graduate from? Who did they sleep with? That person can’t be the leader, supervisor, manager, or even my coworker. No! I won’t accept it! They…they don’t look like me! Forget how great they are! The person in charge is supposed to look like ME!”

#DEI