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.
