2Feb10 Diversity as Viewed by a Sample of UNR
By: Barry Belmont

This is not a joke. Try, as an academic exercise, to see why we think diversity initiatives are both counterproductive and a contemporary form of racism/xenophobia/prejudice of all kind. It tries to teach that You + I > Them for our “enlightened” thinking. This is straight from the Sagebrush whose recent issue we will probably be discussing at length.

But first: a sample.

“Diversity is a tolerance of all people and an understanding of different cultures.”

“I believe that diversity is the most important thing in the whole world.”

“Diversity is a collaboration of people of different backgrounds that come together.”

“I believe that the University of Nevada, Reno has a lot of diversity which is good for our generation.”

“Diversity is very important in our county, but it isn’t as represented as much as it could be.”

“We need to acknowledge other races, other cultures and we need to accept them.”

“I really believe that UNR doesn’t have enough diversity. It’s a lot of kids who look the same.”

“I believe that diversity is not recognized enough on campus. Not as much as it should be.”

“We really have to accept diversity. There’s no sense in having a garden of all the same flower.”

…yeah, people you go to school with said these things.

It’s one thing to “accept” differences among skin color and religion and life styles and sexual orientation and quite another to point at these things and say, You are different from me and I (in my exalted wisdom) am willing to let that be okay. The elitism inherent in the position of “accepting” in the sense that one “accepts diversity” is disturbing and unnecessary. One does not need to “accept” another student as “black” or “a man” or “vegetarian” anymore than one needs to “accept” that air is there. Diversity is all around us and, yes, an appreciation of the cultures of the world is potentially beneficial, but, like air, it goes without saying. Diversity is a word that has no place in any respectable society.

And correct me if I’m wrong, but we’re all equal right? Me = You. Me + You = Us. Me + You + You + You =Us. There is no Them.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • del.icio.us
  • Google Bookmarks
View Comments Posted by Barry Belmont in Diversity
Tagged
  • Corinna

    For someone who has a mission to change the world’s point of view, Barry, I think you would appreciate diversity just a tad more. I have bitched endlessly that UNR thinks it’s more important to have a diversity center than a liberty center; however, I think diversity, at least as a secondary or tertiary value, is okay. ML King’s argument that we should judge one another by the content of our ideas is a good one. If diversity means working against stereotypes that prevent people from making genuine character judgments, I’m all for it. If diversity is about putting up posters and social engineering, no thank you.

  • http://unrforliberty.com/ Barry Belmont

    What does it even mean to “appreciate diversity”? I respect differing opinions and quite often I am led to new and different ways of thinking because of the various thought patterns of others, but that does not mean I would “appreciate” a lesbian's point of view simply because it comes from a lesbian.

    I think my opinion on the matter might be even a little “naive” because I had never encountered any real racism until I came to college. Before that time I didn't even know people cared about such issues…

    Ignorance may not be bliss, but I doubt closeted bigotry is any better.

  • Shane

    Barry, are you opposed to programs designed (not that ASUN has ever done this) to reveal overt stereotypes and latent judgments?

    My disgust with the notion of diversity, when witnessed in the puerile contrivances of ASUN, is the lack of understanding of being aware of diversity.

    I'm sure this won't surprise anyone but ASUN senators often implicitly and explicitly engage in racist, ageist and sexist stereotyping when making appointments. Diversity often takes the form of unofficial quotas. I get the sense that the conception of diversity achieved by many of my former colleagues was limited to increasing the spectrum of skin colors or the range of ages, irrespective of merit of the candidates.

  • Corinna

    Barry, my conception of “diversity,” and I think a not uncommon one, is that people should not be judged solely on their traits (race, sex, orientation, religion, etc), but that their traits influence their world view in a way that causes them to have different opinions, ideas, and values.

    I don’t think you should appreciate someone’s point of view simply because it comes from a person of a certain race,sex, etc… but rather that possessing those traits may lead them to different, but valid, conclusions than you have reached. Drawing from a personal example, a friend who is first-generation Chinese-American has a very different opinion of what “family” is as compared to my opinion. That doesn’t make her wrong, and in fact it helps broaden my own horizons to listen and try to understand when those ideas about family creep into related realms.

  • http://unrforliberty.com/ Barry Belmont

    I believe I agreed as much in the comment above. Differing opinions, good; broader understanding of the cultures of an ever globalized civilization, great; using antiquated ideas of “race” and pigeonholing others to fill quotas, bad.

    Also, when trying to prove a point to a Students for Liberty member, never use anecdotal evidence. It pretty much makes that portion of your agrument invalid on its face.

  • http://unrforliberty.com/ Barry Belmont

    I think there's a whole slew of hidden assumptions in your posing of that hypothetical situation. I mean who are these programs made by? To what end? By what means?

    I'm sure you most likely have in mind the new Own Your Words campaign or whatever it is that the unity commission is up to. But your situation could just as easily be interpreted as a comedian using stereotypes to show their absurdity and make us all laugh.

    Other than that, I agree quite readily with the rest of your comment. That is indeed at the heart of the problems of “diversity.”

  • Shane

    You're right, I was too vague. Honesty, I didn't have any programs in mind, and I'd be hard pressed to come up with something I've seen at UNR (with a few exceptions) that I felt wasn't pedantic or pejorative in form. I've never seen ASUN do anything useful.

    I find campaigns like Own What You Think pretty useless. I don't see how creating a Facebook page accomplishes serious dialog on an issue like integrity and transparency.

    The only point of the comment was to help me clarify your stance.

blog comments powered by Disqus