DEI: Have We Lost Our Minds?

How DEI became America’s biggest boogeyman
DEI has become the scariest acronym of 2024, as politicians, media figures and activist groups insist that promoting diversity is destroying society as we know it. But how has the movement against DEI effectively inspired such outrage? Is this a new phenomenon, or does the backlash against DEI speak to something core about American society? Let’s find out in this video: DEI: Have We Lost Our Minds?
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Carole Anderson, "White Rage."
Elizabeth Levy Paluck, Roni Porat, Chelsey S. Clark, and Donald P. Green, "Prejudice Reduction: Progress and Challenges," Annual Review of Psychology.
Eric Shuman, Eric Knowles, and Amit Goldenberg, "To Overcome Resistance to DEI, Understand What’s Driving It," Harvard Business Review.
Lauren B. Edelman, "Working Law: Courts, Corporations and Symbolic Civil Rights."
Lawrence Glickman, How White Backlash Controls American Progress, The Atlantic.
Leslie T. Fenwick, "The Ugly Backlash to Brown v. Board of Ed That No One Talks About,” Politico.
Pamela Newkirk, "Diversity, Inc."
William Brink and Louis Harris, "Black and White."
=== Watch More Episodes! ===
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Written by Corrigan Vaughan and Amanda Scherker
Hosted by Michael Burns
Directed by Michael Luxemburg
Edited by Brian M Kim
Produced by Olivia Redden
Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound
#DEI #culture #wisecrack
© 2024 Wisecrack / Omnia Media, Inc. / Enthusiast Gaming

[@theseanwardshow]

The most shocking was finding out that minimum wage laws were enacted to circumvent newly dreed slaves being willing to work for less money

[@SzRobertF]

That is not a thing and makes 0 sense. If company is not willing to hire black people except for starvation pay, than the problem is the racist company. Letting them do that is not a solution to anything. The solution is anti discrimination laws not abolishing minimum wage. You are spreading corporate propaganda.

[@kap4020]

i mean, clearly not the only reason, not the main one. first minimum wage laws were in 1890s in non-slave countries like New Zealand and Australia. www.ilo.org/global/topics/wages/minimum-wages/definition/WCMS_439071/lang--en/index.htm

[@mickiemallorie]

Why you shocked bro? The only thing this country does better than hating its minorities, is pretending it doesn't.

[@reanetsemoleleki8219]

You're easily shocked.

[@KyrstOak]

"Dreed"?

[@deadcard13]

One of my former employers had the whole factory do mandatory diversity training. One of the highlights was a segment about wage discrimination, particularly against employees who were more advanced in age. This rung hollow two weeks later when everyone who had 25+ years with the company got pushed into retirement, and the newly open positions were all filled by high-school student "interns".

[@360.Tapestry]

that was less about age and more about high pay for those who've been at the company longest. there just happens to be a strong correlation

[@deadcard13]

@kryptonite365 most of them also had proper pensions, whereas the rest of the plant had 401Ks.

[@360.Tapestry]

@@deadcard13 wouldn't be surprised if all cost cutting translated into some kind of nice bonus at the end of the year for a select few decision makers

[@reed6514]

​@@360.Tapestrydecision makers and stockhokders. It's all made messier (at least politically) bc middle class folks with retirement accounts are also stockholders.

[@55Deluxe]

@@first-last-null Patience grasshopper.

[@Kirtahl]

DEI makes me frustrated because it feels like it is a diversion from big companies not actually making working conditions for all workers. It always feels like if you gotta yell it from the rooftops, you might be hiding skeletons.

[@canadaball603]

It has all the symbolism with none of the actual change! The best thing corporation’s could ask for

[@RenigadeWarrior1]

Shhh. Treating everyone equally, and trying to make things better for everybody is racism in their eyes...

[@blkhistorydecoded]

Companies have many issues to attend to. U make it sound like DEI is 80% of it's focal point. There are a variety of things they have to do in order to keep the company running. DEI is something they are tackling but they have many other issues to take care of. I understand u feel that way and if there is a problem, mention it and document. Don't assume it is because of DEI. It could be something else.

[@stefanyordanov2885]

About a week ago I had an epiphany on what diversity hiring actually is. It's nepotism reimagined. In nepotism you have the boss's daughter/cousin/nephew being offered preferential treatment during the hiring/work process. DEI uses the same principles as nepotism but it replaces the boss's inner circle of friends and family with entire demographics. Now every woman gets to be treated like the boss's daughter. Every African American gets to be treated like the boss's cousin. Every LGBT gets to be treated like the boss's nephew. If HR has to choose between hiring and they'll always choose the because that comes with a big fat paycheck bonus(I mean, how bad can that person be at their job, they'll eventuality get the hang of it, right?). If there's a work conflict between and an employee who's been a valuable asset to the company for years, you know who middle management would side with. We've seen it being played out time and time again. I'm a Bulgarian and we don't have diversity hiring as a broadly accepted practice yet, but what us Bulgarians have tons of is nepotism. In almost every company and institution we can see it. And we all unanimously hate it. Because it's cancer. Maybe it won't destroy the company the moment the first semi-competent boss's nephew walks in the building, but it will start gradually rotting the company from within. It will gradually destroy the product quality and the morale of the employees until it gets too big to ignore. It's such a shame. For years us Bulgarians were being shown on the TV that there exists this magical land called America where you can pursue this magical goal called the American dream no matter how you were born or where you come from. It really grieves me that the USA not only traded that for nepotism, but they are also being told to celebrate it with no decent pushback to be seen. Nothing good lasts forever, I guess.

[@blkhistorydecoded]

@@stefanyordanov2885Imagine this...Mostly Blk people occupy the US and they r the ones that occupy the workspaces. For centuries they pushed down the Whites, not really allowing them in their spaces and not respecting them much. Things change, they make efforts to hire more QUALIFIED Whites in their workplaces. Would u see that as wrong?

[@ARealPersonNotABot]

Im black and against DEI/Affirmative action. If you want to actually get to the bottom of why people like myself are against DEI, then you need to step out of your boxes and ask. Dont assume the other side of the argument. I keep seeing pushback from people who are attempting to frame the other side instead of engaging with them. Diversity itself is great everyone should want it. Inclusivity is great. Everyone should want it. Equity is where it falls off the rails. Equity is often confused with equality which it isn't even close. DEI initiatives don't simply accept a wider view of applicants. It straight up discriminates against one specific group (Straight white males) None of these initiatives from DEI to CRT to ESG to BLM have helped race relations. Its only made things worse. I knew from the start this video wouldnt give a fair assessment. He spends so much time talking about past racism hes straight up skipping what the complaints are. No one who tackles these issues from the pro DEI side ever even attempts to understand the other side. You mean to tell me the current pushback is from people who dont want black progress? What about the black people who are against it? What about the Thomas Sowell's of the world? This guy isnt trying to understand why people are against it. Hes just doubling down on a pro DEI stance. Its not helpful.

[@terbospeed]

I can't trust much of what Thomas Sowell says. Too many black leftists consider him a clown. He has a few interesting facts interwoven with a bunch of bias. All of this just sounds like a strawman designed to fail. You say he starts in the past to... Explain the current atmosphere. I don't believe your arguments in good faith.

[@venod3134]

Bro. They are not going to let you into that Country Club... And if they do, just look around. There is a direct line from the past that leads up to this very day. Being ok with the status quo as a black man...

[@theydamnmutha]

“If you don’t learn from the past you are doomed to repeat it.” A quote most of us agree with. And yet here you are…and the people who liked this comment…being in favor of ignoring the past to coddle and prioritize present day emotions. And you believe that because you wrote a lot of words that you are making a valid point. Interesting. And not in a good way.

[@erin1569]

I attended a DEI training for businessmen hosted by a company that prides itself on being progressive. They essentially said, in a very roundabout way, "You can think they're not human, but you don't want to miss out on their money."

[@kennyle8640]

Capitalism...uhhh...finds a way.

[@izzyreal82]

Ahhh, good ol business case for diversity

[@AngryPug76]

It’s how tolerance used to be taught. “It doesn’t matter how you feel about them or what you think about them so long as you treat them as you’d treat someone like you while at work/school/whatever.” Which worked much better than todays “if you’re a bigot outside of work then it doesn’t matter how nice you are there, you should still be fired even if the things you said or did were years ago” because it destroyed all incentive for the bigots to behave around people not like themselves at home or work. And removes all incentive to actually learn real facts about the group they hate since there’s next to no safe path to make amends. Acceptance, which is the goal now, is an uncontrollable emotion that can’t be forced. Tolerance is an act anyone can do, which is what they were teaching. Explain to a bigot how tolerance can make them wealthier and their behavior improves. It’s how I work at work because I’ll never be accepting of evangelical Christians but I tolerate them at work.

[@kiim0]

This is a big part of the problem with "diversity" and "inclusion period. They are buzz words. Empty shells of the english language, meant to inspire feelings of empathy and compassion....but all they did was become trendy, over used, and have their original intention exhausted, while only a select few set of people actually being intentional when they implement diversity and inclusion.

[@Labyrinth6000]

That training sounds like vomit to me.

[@kemerydunn9532]

I remember when we learned about Brown V Board in school and my mom said she remembered being bussed way far away to another school as part of desegregation in middle school in Arkansas. And i was like "oh cool, my mom was part of history. ......wait..... werent you in middle school in the 80s? THIRTY years after Brown v Board??" Yeah integrating schools took a long time

[@mandisaw]

It's worse now than in the 70s. Housing segregation has continued largely unabated, and school districts are funded & rated in a manner that tends to correlate with the diversity of the local community. Even when new immigrants move in, those with money and professional visas fairly quickly move into upscale communities, with schools to match. While those who struggle to get their papers in order, or whose kids need ESL & social services, end up in crappier districts. Median household income at birth more closely correlates with future earnings than race, although they intersect in crazy ways.

[@theeamazingkrabb5358]

We had the same thing in savannah ga when I was in elementary and middle school...also in the late 80s early 90s.

[@Bridge2110]

@@mandisaw Only looking districts makes you think minority schools are underfunded. This is false and has been for decades. Blacks actually get more in school funding, per student, than whites do. See Richwine 2011.

[@kingjoeblack5]

Integrating schools never really happened. Look up the stats, America is as segregated as it’s ever been.

[@mandisaw]

@@kingjoeblack5 It *did* happen, in a lot of places, then it stopped. Late GenX & early Millennials [70s-90s] had more diverse friend groups & social-cohorts than earlier generations, esp college grads, whether city or suburban. You can see it in the stats of elite & specialized-admission K-12 and colleges at the time. But by the time you get to the early-00s onward, most of the gains get rolled back, and integration efforts are underfunded, or cut entirely. Matches the timing of the latest push against public education, with the rise of charters, and State defunding of school budgets. This was 20+ years ago, before CRT was even a concept, so it wasn't that boogeyman either.

[@Onattamato]

The "merit" argument is super hollow when you look at the number of positions that are filled by friend of a friend or son of a friend, etc.

[@Based_Proletariat]

Facts

[@LeoStaley]

What? Merit isn't a valid metric because sometimes people with power hire people without merit? That's ridiculous. Just because a portion of the population violates a principle doesn't mean that principle is bad.

[@SoonMrWick]

That's a separate issue that will still exist alongside DEI programs.

[@WisecrackEDU]

yep.

[@Based_Proletariat]

​@@WisecrackEDU I'm looking forward to your video about that racist weasel Christopher Rufo.

[@CobusMostert]

My diversity training involved my HR person cautioning against labeling the overweight individual in an unattractive shirt as "fat" or "ugly." To this day, I remain unsure how this advice qualifies as diversity/sensitivity training, as no one over the age of 5 finds it enlightening.

[@allanjmcpherson]

What I find particularly perplexing about that advice is that the term I've heard fat people say they prefer to describe their body composition is precisely "fat". This DEI training sounds like it's been written without consulting the people it's trying to include.

[@briansanders8122]

Did that also apply to someone who's morbidly obese, to such an extent, they can't physically fit into a single airplane seat and have no choice but to buy two?

[@intellectually_lazy]

@@briansanders8122 it's not like kevin smith can't afford two seats, but years ago they said he's too fat to fly. he's not even that fat, so why don't you stop acting like only your experience is the only one there, karen carpenter

[@briansanders8122]

@@intellectually_lazy What does anyone gain from being overweight?

[@Window4503]

⁠​⁠@@briansanders8122 Weight, duh. Jokes aside, it’s a health concern. Not sure what the other person is rambling about, but the fat acceptance culture is delusional and actively destroying itself. Fat isn’t “self,” it’s just a physical quality just like being skinny is. And both extremes are dangerous. It shouldn’t be controversial to say that.

[@jamesstrom6991]

Accusing large swaths of the population as “racist” because they oppose DEI is bad faith and poor argument.

[@teddycooke8145]

He is definition of shitlib. Not willing to acknowledge one position of anybody he doesn't like instead chooses to obfuscate the issue and gaslight them about what's really happening

[@QuantumCairo]

P.s.s also all of this doesn't matter anyways because its a fucking boys club (white boys club in particular). Before any cheeky cunts want to argue me on the issue I've literally had this crop up TIME AND TIME again throughout my life here in the midwest. No I have never achieved a position due to D.E.I. Yes, within exceptions of literal degrees earned I am usually the most qualified person on the gig and had to bust my ass to PROVE I know my shit. Which I do, for the most part.

[@ronaldderosa]

The anger over DEI is yet another “don’t look behind the curtain” issue. The 1% wants us all fighting each other rather than realizing they are screwing us. Just echoing what was already said in the video.

[@jcdenton7914]

The 1% wants us fighting against eachother, and they also would like it if we didn't challenge their initiatives at all.

[@Tera_B_Twilight]

I just love it when my local government leaders make it into Wisecrack. 😒

[@azazel166]

Hopefully better leaders will be put in charge in the future.

[@Notfunnysam]

oh ya, were all waiting for the guy who cant get a boner to serve our purpose@@azazel166

[@Notfunnysam]

if you cant understand the implications of this, but you feel your heritage as discoveries come about... Copy this to your hard drive.

[@SephoneNorth]

I feel you, man. I live in Panhandle Florida. I’m stuck with flipping Gaetz.

[@Tera_B_Twilight]

Not sure what implications you're talking about,@@Notfunnysam. I was raised in the PNW (and as far as implications go, that also has a lot of uncomfortable complications, but at least at the time I was living there, the culture was quite liberal and forward thinking). I moved here as an adult in 1996 and the politics here were already pretty effed up. Been voting in the minority ever since, for whatever that's worth. Every election I pray we're going to flip this state and every time, we come close but I'm disappointed in the end. If you want to know what kind of battle we're up against, google "voter suppression in texas". edited to add: Besides, if you're white, and you live in the USA, and you don't know how very fucked up your heritage is, you just need to watch more Wisecrack.

[@toms8393]

Apple's Vice President of Diversity, a black woman and 20-year Apple veteran named Denise Young Smith gave a speech highlighting the fact that a room full of white guys with very different backgrounds, views, and experiences is still 'diverse.' She wanted to emphasize the complexity and multiple ways of achieving diversity, and how we think about diversity. They fired her for it. That's the problem with DEI and other ESG backed 'corporate social responsibility' BS

[@lephtovermeet]

You're so close at the end but I think you missed a glaring fact: skin color, frenology, body shape, hair texture etc. are not great criteria for promoting equity and inclusion. MLK, Malcom X, and Fred Hamlton all came to this conclusion before their assassinations. If we actually tried to address proverty, we'd solve probably 80-90% of our ratial issues. But as long as we implement piecemeal token solutions, especially ones along racial lines, we're promoting division, not unity.

[@redherring5016]

Sadly it's easier to make token gestures and say you're doing good than making meaningful change

[@ethansito5321]

Based. If poverty is the issue, focus on poverty, not race.

[@venod3134]

History has not been to kind to these people you speak of. Just imagine being in a race, but you have to start 10 paces back. The deep rooted racism in this country is unfixable though. I just stay in my bubble, because people just ignore context and jump right for the boot straps.

[@venod3134]

​@ethansito5321 no way you guys actually listened to the lessons in the video. Why even watch Wisecrack videos if you are stuck in your mental prejudice?

[@-alyissa-3632]

No this wouldn't happen. Please look up how rich black people are treated vs their rich white counterparts. Look at how they've been treated historically. This is just wishful thinking. We have to address BOTH.

[@pinktfatrabbit]

DEI sounds nice. If you look at it neutrally, it is nothing other than classism. I wouldn't call classism progress.

[@zenever0]

making sure everyone has what they need to be successful isn’t classism

[@pinktfatrabbit]

@@zenever0 DEI is about dividing people into classes and then determining what level of oppression you face.

[@zenever0]

@@pinktfatrabbit WRONG. people have already faced oppression. (1860) White southern conservatives committed treason and formed the confederacy to preserve African slavery and white supremacy. (1865) White southern conservatives make up the KKK. (1865-1890) White southern conservatives make up black codes. (1877) Poll tax, literacy tests and registration referral is instituted across the south to disenfranchise black voters *(Georgia)* The term “grandfathered” is first used, exempting whites from all of this. (1883) Civil Rights Cases, Supreme Court votes (8-1) the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional, ruling that the 14th Amendment only applied to state actions, not private individuals or businesses, leading to the legitimization of racial segregation and the establishment of Jim Crow laws in the South. (1884) Black citizens are barred from juries *(Mississippi)* (1896) Plessy vs. Ferguson Supreme Court case upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine, legitimizing the Jim Crow laws *(Louisiana)* (1896-1968) White southern conservatives make up Jim Crow laws. (1954) Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson, ruling that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional *(Kansas)* (1954-1968) White southern conservatives oppose civil rights. (1957) Little Rock Nine incident, *Arkansas* Governor resists federal law by activating the national guard to keep black students out. President Eisenhower directs the 101st Airborne to enforce and oversee desegregation. (1967-2023) White southern conservatives oppose interracial marriages. (2001-2013) White southern conservatives oppose gay marriage. (2023) Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) is opposed by white southern conservatives.

[@DavidJamesHenry]

I work seasonally at the Hollywood Bowl and when we had our DEI training, the lawyer they hired to give us the spiel said that "we should stop calling them autistic people, and instead people with autism," I approached her after the seminar and told her it's actually the opposite, that autistic people prefer to have autism named first, as it makes autism part of their identity, and not a "disease" that must be "cured". I told her i knew this, because I am autistic.

[@HylianFox3]

They're not gay people they're "people with gayness" :P

[@ceezy27]

I mean this with all due respect, why should autism not be “cured”? I get you don’t cure autism and it’s not possible but my brother is autistic and he absolutely destroyed our home life, any chance of a normal childhood for me, and my parents marriage. The way you talk about it leave me to feel that you think in some aspects desirable or beneficial when it absolutely is not. It is a mental condition which can be unbelievably difficult and harmful to the individuals family. I get you might not see it as a bad thing for yourself but I’m sure it’s put your family through quite a bit. You should not feel guilty about it as you had no real decision in it, but it is a thing we should “cure” if possible.

[@DavidJamesHenry]

@@ceezy27 Absolutely not. The only reason autistic people are seen the way you see your brother is because you treat him, expecting him to behave like a neurotypical person. You would behave the exact same way if you were put through the torture of growing up in a world that isn't built for you.

[@trevorholpt5009]

@@ceezy27 Curing autism would require altering the structure of the brain so much that it would essentially be equivalent to replacing them with an entirely new person. There’s a reason we don’t perform majorly invasive brain surgery’s like lobotomy’s anymore.

[@alonzoaguilar-vazquez5218]

😵‍💫 who cares

[@goinggoneification]

I recently moved to Northern Ireland, I was doing equality training for my job and there was a comic strip of a man in a tri-colour scarf and an old lady shouting about there should be a Union Flag outside. The question was "What should you do to quell the situation?" The answer was talk with both parties together and try find a common solution. MY GOD! Why did no one think of that 100 years ago!

[@TevelDrinkwater]

OMG! The solution to all the world's conflicts! I can't believe that DEI consultants have been sitting on the solution to world peace.

[@ottoboettger9627]

Im pretty sure they did, thats why we run so politically/religiously/morally charged, makes it harder to work together

[@adey126]

How diverse is Ireland? Is it like Maine?

[@andreaslind6338]

Fellow brit here, NI is mostly (but not totaly) white, but what makes it "diverse" is that there have been two different peoples, one Protestant, British and right of centre, and another, Catholic, Irish and Left of centre. Historically the protestants minority have opressed the catholic majority. The Protestants want to stay with britain, so they are called Unionist, the Catholics want to join with the irish republic so are called "Republican".

[@toyotaprius79]

​​Northern Ireland when established in 1920 was more like a political Apartheid project in ensuring that there'll always be Protestant rule. So it's much more like Israel or southern Jim Crow states that used violent pogroms and Gerrymandering to keep Irish Catholics disenfranchised and segregated especially from working class protestant communities who have once shared union strikes in 1906, consequently leading to the prominently pro-🇬🇧Union Belfast councillors, workers' union and industrial leaders to force the segregation of dock workers between Catholics and protestants out of fear of Irish Home Rule. And would you know this happened exactly when the Titanic was being built

[@michaeltonus3888]

I think also, there's a longer game being played in these kinds of campaigns too, because when you paint conservative institutions, like academia, corporate HR departments, etc, as these super far left institutions, you kind of erase the idea that the Overton Window could ever move further left than like, corporate DEI. And that's a nightmarish prospect. That like, Starbucks Race Together campaign, is the best we could ever do, and we definitely shouldn't, because we're not crazy.

[@mandisaw]

Good point. Also note that the targets - public education, affirmative-action & scholarships, equal pay for equal work, hiring & salary transparency, anti-discrimination measures - are all tools of class mobility and of workers' rights. In the modern day, lacking unions, and with homeownership & entrepreneurship wealth-gated, they are some of the only channels by which someone can move into - or remain in - the middle class. And those are channels these same entities have fought to suppress since long before they were open to women or minorities.

[@canadaball603]

Honest question. In what ways do you feel academia is “ conservative”? I graduated in 2019. All I saw was DEI and left wing ideas pushed from staff/ faculty. To the point where my history TA made it clear she was a “marxist leninist” and that was the lense that she would be grading our papers through. I went to McMaster in Canada. The same place that the students drove speakers they disagreed with off the campus. I saw myself as a leftist until I got there. How the people who claimed to be “for the workers” would tale any chance to spit on them for being “too dumb to vote the right way”. All academia pushed was a superiority complex while giving the students a mountain of debt to dig out of. But thats just my experience. Why did it feel conservative to you? Thanks :)

[@michaeltonus3888]

@@canadaball603 Yeah that's a great question. I think the answer is similar to why corporate media tends to be conservative, even though a lot of journalists are left wing. Academics are often left leaning, but academics (even tenured professors) aren't actually who have power within the institution of the university. The university administration, beholden as it is to public and private funding sources tends to be a lot more conservative. For example my alma mater, (also in Canada) is very heavily invested in oil businesses. Student bodies generally remain disproportionately white and upper to middle class, favouring people whose parents can afford tuition, which in turn fosters elitism like the kind you mention having encountered (which to be fair a lot of non-university leftist types would absolutely hate). All while cutting full time teaching positions in favour of guest lecturers, which pay less and offer no job security at all, while trying to undermine the collective bargaining position of the unions operating on campus. And I agree, superficially university did FEEL progressive. But "feeling progressive" and actually having a sincere commitment to fairness and equality at an institutional level are different things. And that's kinda the point I'm making here (quite badly it would seem). When the right demonizes even the superficial level efforts of conservative institutions like DEI initiatives, and corporate HR departments (the point of which is to prevent lawsuits) as crazy leftist plots, it makes any genuinely leftist action seem totally impossible. (A key point to understanding my point here is to understand I don't think corporate sensitivity trainings and the like are actual leftist praxis, they're cynically motivated centrist appropriations of left wing language, reformulated to protect the status quo. Basically just PR campaigns.)

[@karawethan]

​@@michaeltonus3888 ^ this is a great explanation

[@CiabanItReal]

Academia is a "conservative institution"? How, there are no conservatives in it.

[@remycoldez7593]

This guy is full of himself, his takes is extremely biased.

[@Gabreyes093]

I use to be a very motivated worker in blue collar environments. I still pride myself on my work ethic. However, over the last few years I have lost a lot of motivation when it comes to work due to the mythical meritocracy that is supposedly core to being an American.

[@Sarah1R1]

It’s in Canada too. I feel the same way.

[@55Deluxe]

That's on you.

[@Gabreyes093]

@@55Deluxe thanks, bud

[@mickiemallorie]

Its all a myth. The amount of people who are able to climb their way up to higher classes minute...rich people stay rich, and poor people mostly stay poor.

[@55Deluxe]

@@mickiemallorieThe rich tend to have no problem screwing the poor, throughout the world, for personal enrichment. Sociopaths have a huge advantage, E Musk and trump for example.

[@brianprince3629]

Can I just say, "the outrage industrial complex" is a fantastic line

[@azazel166]

American moral panics are something else.

[@LeoStaley]

A moral panic, like the 80s Satanism stuff, is outrage over literally nothing. DEI is absolutely real. Whether it's bad depends on your values

[@WisecrackEDU]

It's one of our specialities.

[@JamesDecker7]

As a Nerd Kid in the 80’s/90’s I will never forget the MP about Magic the Gathering and D&D.

[@Biscuitsdefortune]

French moral panic over anime was a good one too. Over the last decades, the French also created the very successful "Le grand remplacement" (Great Replacement) about immigration.

[@nkanyezihlatshwayo3601]

@@WisecrackEDUAnd primary exports😅 I was reading up the conservative schism in the late 1980s here in S.A. - we didn’t “need” a Conservative Party before then and leading up until the apartheid referendum (and haven’t read had one since).. I swear to the god of Israel, that “No” campaign was penned by the ghost of Ronald Reagan.

[@ReworkToys]

At 16:00 you start to go down the road of being for DEI. Are you really for it? It’s obvious by now that it’s a horrible practice. It’s literally dividing people into groups and prioritizing groups over others. It’s everything the civil rights movement was against. Animators at Disney were majority white men because white men went to school for animation, Disney decided this wasn’t fair and hired a diverse staff regardless of skill level now they are failing. America is based on merit, if you have the skills you can get the work. We are long past racist hiring but now DEI is bringing it back. Insane. I’ll try to finish your video, but I gotta say if you’re arguing for DEI then I’m gonna unsub. It’s straight up racism and fascist.

[@mauditebalvenie]

Shut up, not counting that African Americans could not go to school for animation and the Jim Crow laws that were in place.

[@ipercalisse579]

Absolutely true.

[@Oh_ELCapitan]

The US is not racist = there is no war in Ba Sing Se. Its 1984 level gaslighting

[@dwarvenjesus4266]

DIE us about as racist as you can get.

[@Based_Proletariat]

​@@dwarvenjesus4266 Racist

[@mrlofi333]

USA is definitely racist crazy how it started on that

[@azazel166]

To think that a kids show would be so accurate on how the politicians and the wealthy people who own them lie to us.

[@Lilliathi]

Compared to what though? Sure, there's plenty of racism in the US, but it's less than 95% of other countries. Black people are strongly disliked in most of Asia, still enslaved in parts of the middle east, an underclass in many south American countries, etc.

[@timeshark8727]

I so love the massive strawmen you shift to whenever the idea of things being in any way anti white man come up. Someone criticizes a company for "anti white curriculum or policy" and your next sentence is something like "LOL, I'm sure they have 'commit white genocide' on their docket". What's the matter? would presenting the policy or stance that is actually being criticized, rather than jumping to satire before leaving the topic altogether, make the side you don't agree with seem legitimate or show them to have a point?

[@toomuchdata]

In my experience sitting through DEI corporate trainings, after all the patting themselves on their backs, the core message was: we don't wanna look bad, we don't wanna be liable, please don't sue us, it's a waste of money and resources, also here's your sombrero let's celebrate cinco de mayo (you're latino, right?)!

[@MrChristopherLock]

On this, I think you're being pretty tone-deaf. As a UBI/Universal Healthcare-Liberal, I find much talk of systemic racism to be helpful -- many simply never considered they benefitted in a game that was rigged for centuries. That said, you've explained how unhelpful DEI has been, how divisive it is, yet exit your narrative before the obvious results of these ham-handed policies. It hasn't improved the situation for most, it's given the impression that many only have their jobs due to a system now rigged against white people, it prevents people from banding together economically (your best point) so is a massive failure, a hindrance to real reform, and generator of unfairness that scuttles progress... shut it down and advance economic improvements that will actually help people, not divide them.

[@imanigordon6803]

It never has hindered white folk otherwise we’d see a shift in economic power from white folks which we don’t.

[@lunarmoth131]

The claim that only merit and talent are considered in Texas hiring practices is complete B.S. -- especially in East Texas, where I grew up.

[@ГеоргиГеоргиев-с3г]

It's bs to you, not to them, they would hire white people BECAUSE that is the thing that proves they have merit and talent, and they don't want to think they are capable of being racist, first rule of racism, believe you are incapable of it or ignore the implications entirely, some bystander effect for effect.(i have been told by soc#119) There have been few studies showing that only your name sounding "inappropriate" could (de)duct you points on your job application.

[@Labyrinth6000]

Same goes with California

[@krunkle5136]

Those should always be the only criteria for hiring though other than the person gets along with people. Competency and character exist and can be measured sort of. It's all we got otherwise other than pieces of paper.

[@franjkav]

@@krunkle5136should be. Yet, is not.

[@alejandrogarcia3227]

​@@franjkavokay so what would be the solution? Just force ppl to hire? Assuming the complaint is valid i don't know if anyone would want to work in a place like that if they're racist sexist etc.

[@regionalflyer]

Weird office diversity training story: One year during annual recurrent training the instructor sent us to the computer lab to do the new diversity training slideshow. There were about 30 of us of every color, gender, and preference. One of the slides was saying how we may unknowingly use words that are discriminatory and then proceeds to list about 50 terms. Quite a few of them no one had heard of so of course we look them up. This turned into everyone in the classroom guessing which term went to which group and all of us laughing at the absurdity. So in stead of teaching us what not to say, we had a classroom of people using every word on the list and having a great time 😂. It was like that scene from the firefighter show with Denis Leary .

[@timeshark8727]

Here's an idea, if we don't want race, gender, identity, etc to be a factor regarding hiring or enrolment lets just take those questions off of the standardized list of questions, make it just about ability/training/experience/education, then do phone interviews with voice alteration if absolutely necessary. The only real issues I have with things like DEI and affirmative action is that it is yet another form of racism... regardless of your purpose, you are making decisions based _solely_ on the race/gender of people. We've gone from "black workers are lazy" or "women belong in the kitchen" to "straight white men are evil". We are just shifting the target rather than stopping race-based hiring or discrimination. That and what its done to Disney... I have no choice but to laugh whenever someone tells me that I am privileged due to my race and sex. I am privileged because of the good decisions of my parents and grandparents, not because of my race and definitely not because of my gender. If anything, my gender has been a hinderance in my working career. I do wonder what privilege I am supposed to have? The _privilege_ of being the bland standard? Of being ignored and dismissed? Of being the one blamed for (insert any bad part of society here)? Of being asked to lift heavy things and get stuff off the top shelves? Of working harder, while being paid _less,_ than the women around me? Of being forced to walk on eggshells lest I say 1 wrong thing to any woman and get myself fired, meanwhile they can do whatever they want to me without risk? Wow, what a privilege! YAY ME!

[@WillForFree]

my dad told me a story idk where he heard it but Johnson rode into Vietnam on a helicopter and when he was leaving a soldier attempted to redirect him saying 'sir that's not you helicopter' he responded "Boy they're all my fuckin' helicopters."

[@yourfriendlyinternetmeatshield]

Cracked KZbin channel had a bunch of videos about presidents. This one literally starts talking about Johnson and his Johnson. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqWxpqiioaahl80si=26x13sV_w-rZbEB_

[@BigHeadLilDude]

That sounds in character if the stories and reports are accurate.

[@MrTaxiRob]

Imagine Trump if he actually did good things for working class Americans

[@intellectually_lazy]

@@MrTaxiRob it's america. you ever hear of teddy roosevelt or andrew jackson. they're all a bunch of boorish elites, roll-playing as adventurers and steamrolling vast populations with entitled bombast

[@geneherald8169]

DEI is racist, end of story. If you disagree, please define racism for me.

[@a_e_hilton]

Calling journalism a progressive industry is truly... something (I'm a newswriter and say this with all the love in my heart)

[@a_e_hilton]

@@pafloy me! I am! 😁 have a good day

[@LeoStaley]

Capitalism absolutely adores DEI, and pushes it because it benefits the capitalists.

[@Lilliathi]

@@LeoStaley Word. Same with illegal immigration and open border policies. Fresh low wage meat that also suppresses the wages of the existing working class, two for the price of one.

[@GNMbg]

can you? @@pafloy

[@pafloy]

Can you define what is a woman? I mean like an academic with a degree, which I assume you have

[@GabrielHudson]

This is the most straw manny description of DEI I've ever heard, and I'm surprised by that coming from Wisecrack. As someone who teaches at a college, I can tell you that is NOT the criticism of DEI programs and people that push back against some of the dictates of DEI are not opposed to or troubled by diversity.

[@custos3249]

Yep. Completely obfuscates the fact that it's used to create a new social hierarchy that _also_ flies in the face of meritocracy.

[@breakfastboyboating]

DEI, like most things, is very well meaning and corporations often misuse it

[@lystic9392]

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Good intentions need good ideas to come to fruition.

[@thelordakira]

DEI is a make work project for people with social studies, it is in reality used to infest the system with like minded people, nothing about race and gender and other stuff. See what they do, not what they say.

[@dwc1964]

I was a wee tyke during the final years of Reconstruction II, and have vague childhood memories of a lot of those scenes playing out on the evening news. By the time I was old enough to understand any of it, it was all in historical documentaries like _Eyes on the Prize._ And so, before I had a chance to get involved in any of it, it was all over. I came of age during the backlash, and have spent my life watching the interminable backslide. We're well overdue for a Reconstruction III. What's missing from this timeline, between the Great Society of LBJ and the Age of Reagan (which we're still living in), was the Nixon administration. Nixon _accepted_ the Great Society paradigm, much as Eisenhower had accepted the New Deal paradigm - but sought to transform it in certain ways. For one example, he _championed_ Affirmative Action as a _counter_ to demands for full employment, open admissions to colleges/universities, and other _universal_ measures.

[@monkeeseemonkeedoo3745]

The issue is simple, diversity is 'valued' only as a surface level trait. Diversity of thinking is not valued, they want conformity in thinking. You see this all the time, especially when a minority supports anything conservative or not leftist. DEI is powerhungry, and it stifles free expression and free thinking, in it's current form I think it's dangerous and does more to grow its own influence and power, than to promote diversity

[@B3Band]

Diversity is ensuring that everyone looks different, provided that they all think the same.

[@lystic9392]

I'm also saddened that instead of investigating what people might not like about DEI, you only look for how the people who complain about DEI could be at fault themselves. That could be at play, but by defending DEI without looking at the criticism, you're getting in the way of developing an understanding.

[@mickiemallorie]

lol. didn't listen to the video at all. they were quite critical with DEI noting it was mainly a joke and had done little to move the needle, but the adversity towards it clearly shows a racist agenda when taken in the context of historical pushback to change.

[@TheCrogun]

This video was about showing how the DEI backlash mirrors similar backlashes to social progress and the actors that push those backlashes... Any DEI criticisms are high-key irrelevant to the thesis of the video that certain people don't like when their spot at the top is threatened.

[@Simonds007]

It's a liberal ideological channel

[@lystic9392]

@@TheCrogun I kind of agree with you. This video is about the 'bad faith arguments'. I guess I was just hoping based on title and description that it would touch upon things beyond the hypothetical accusatory stuff but that's OK. I'm not saying it was a bad video, I didn't dislike it or anything.

[@thelordakira]

@@lystic9392 so you were looking for a real review of DEI, not the propaganda you got.

[@saltyBANDIT]

As a human with melanin this is all par for the course and nothing new HOWEVER y’all got a manifesto for racism? This is new to me and an absolute necessity in my controversial library.

[@thulyblu5486]

Everybody has melanin... just some groups have more and some have less. (exception is albino I guess so unless you wanted to say that you're not an albino you can go away with your unscientific race-baiting)

[@adinsilverstein2788]

My history class read an essay “Slavery a Positive Good” by one of the confederate high-ups, I forget which one

[@ClayBratt]

All humans have melanin unless you're albino

[@MrTaxiRob]

where IS it part of a public school history course? I'd like to get it included in schools around me@@wildfire9280

[@Andy-oy3yg]

What human doesn’t have melanin? Lol Are you trying to say you’re black?

[@a2d]

I work for a large bank. Been there 8 years. I've got a degree in the field, I get great yearly reviews, I've trained dozens... Maybe hundreds of new employees. I've led an effort to streamline our processes that has resulted in millions of dollars in savings. Yet, I'm still on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder. I've applied for hundreds of promotions, and I've only landed a handful of interviews. I was having a talk with my manager about it, asking what I needed to do to boost my chances. After our conversation she slipped me a screen shot of an interview guide. It was basically a guide on how to stack the deck against straight white men. It explicitly stated that priority must go to women, minorities and LGBT applicants. So basically my only chance at promotion is if everyone else interviewed is wildly incompetent. Guess I gotta find another job.

[@zenever0]

It’s interesting that you’re sharing disinformation since the data and demographics for banks shows that minorities are massively underrepresented in banking and finance

[@Izzysai]

If you have a degree in finance. I'd say jump into healthcare. Pharma, hospital based care or even bio pharma. I know this sounds odd for finance to move to healthcare but there are plenty of jobs over 100k that are finance related and most of these companies don't care about DEI.

[@a2d]

@@Izzysai I hadn't thought of that. There's a healthy pharma industry in my city. J&J is a big player here. I'll check into it.

[@AmirDarkOne]

@@zenever0 maybe its because lower population percentage? or maybe they suck at it?

[@zenever0]

@@AmirDarkOne you're supporting racism with racist remarks lmao

[@StoneSentinel]

I would have liked to see some more discussion of both the ways in which DEI has not been effective to date and also some of the valid arguments against how it is currently being implemented.

[@LuisSierra42]

This is Wisecrack, it's bordering on radical left territory so everything the right does ends up being "bad"

[@youtubeuserremainsanonymou9022]

I think much of it is saying "this is what prejudice looks like and it can be unconscious". Most people just do not change much when social stuff is framed that way. As a military brat raised overseas, I grew up in a subculture with an increased rate of anti-racist views that may hint at alternatives. I was confused when I found out segregation still happened. Overseas, all kids shared the same housing/school/etc. Class was another matter, but at least it hints you can reduce racism in the children of families that have more desegregated communities

[@emem009]

People do not want to see both sides.

[@StoneSentinel]

@@emem009 I do 🤷‍♂

[@emem009]

@@StoneSentinel I do too! I just think it is rare the country seems so divided. That said it may just be the fringes.

[@troperhghar9898]

I dont have a "workspace deversity story" but i do have one from high school We had a "be the change" day where during one of the activities we had to cross the gym if we were diffrent ethnic groups but ot turned out none of the darker skinned kids knew thier ethnic backgrounds so we all just stood around awkwardly Also if the guest speaker is going to condemn slavery best make sure the kids have even been taught what slavery is because we hadn't

[@imanigordon6803]

That’s even worse actually 😂

[@B3Band]

Yeah I'm not crossing that gym no matter which "group" I was in. That's just embarrassing.

[@AshtarMichael]

In my experience when I fail to honestly acknowledge past behaviors that bring me shame, I will be more likely to repeat these behaviors and create a repeating cycle. This insight applies to countries, religions, communities, families, etc.

[@carpo719]

As an old school liberal myself I used to laugh at the people who would worry about things like that in college is, but over the years I've started to see it and understand where they're coming from. When it leads to censored speech everybody should be careful, and I think people are just fearful of others telling them what to think. Most folks don't need others to tell them to include people, as most of us are raised to understand that. It's treating adults like children in a way and people don't like it. Even the word diversity Rings Hollow these days to anyone who is paying attention and once corporations get on the bandwagon everything falls apart

[@Alverant]

When those with power freely denegrate those without power while those without power are punished for speaking the truth, there are problems.

[@monkeeseemonkeedoo3745]

They care about meaningless, surface level diversity. Any difference in thinking is met with hostility, even when you are a minority. They even turn into raging racists when minorities of any kind support conservatives, then they really show you their true colors.

[@B3Band]

Great way of putting it. This is exactly why I can't stand these initiatives despite my mom being black. I'm tired of being talked to like I owned slaves simply because one can't easily label me because my skin isn't dark enough.

[@NEWBkiller646]

This reminds me a lot of how Unionists and Loyalists in N.I react to any measures of equality for Republicans and Nationalists, for example the backlash to any potential Irish language legislation, despite similar policies existing for Welsh and Scots Gaelic in their respective parts of the UK. For those used to privilege, equality feels like oppression.

[@evanthompson1482]

If my kid comes home and feels bad that his ancestor’s committed atrocities, I might have to actually talk to him about real world problems and that’s going to really cut into my “harassment of women just trying to seek medical attention” time.

[@Mialamorena1]

And if my kid comes home and feels bad because every depiction of HIM is as a gang banger and drug dealer or deadbeat dad, THAT is okay, right?

[@Lilliathi]

@@Mialamorena1 This ain't the 80's grandpa.

[@dwarvenjesus4266]

@@Mialamorena1 That's not ok either. Both are equally bad.

[@JohnHunterPlayerr]

@@Lilliathiright! Now we have shows with black ppl are police officers and lawyers arresting other black ppl. PROGRESS!

[@evanthompson1482]

@@Mialamorena1 I was being sarcastic. I’m sorry I didn’t make it clear. I figured the absolute ridiculousness and uncharacteristic self awareness made it obvious.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Comment for the algorithm! May this sacrifice aid you🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@moosewerk356]

Oh man, Amy Schumer still exists??

[@sagitarriulus9773]

Claudine Gay plagiarized most of her thesis

[@kendomyers]

A somewhat related story: In an Army training course in 2010, TBOLC, we were doing a sexual harassment class and the instructor (an old civilian) decided to use his platform as a chance to sneak in all his filthy sex jokes "Here, I'll give you an example," he said, calls up a young attractive female LT by waving his fingers, then whispered in her ear. She was clearly made uncomfortable. He turned to the microphone and said "you know what I told here? 'I knew I could make you come with one finger!'" Pause for laughter... Crickets. "And that's the kind of joke you can't tell." It went on, and it didn't get better. The Us Army of 2010 was vastly different than the Army of today. We've gotten better, this kind of behavior is no longer so public or blatant.

[@junkers3824]

That’s uhhhhh… a major yikes

[@kendomyers]

@@junkers3824 Major Yikes 😆

[@6dragondaddy913]

@@junkers3824 deserving of Corporal Punishment?

[@GordonFreemanSays]

At ~3 minutes, when he said "how diversity became a bad word", that's when I finally understood what this video is about.

[@ipercalisse579]

😅...im not at that point yet, but i have a bad feeling

[@too1leasy]

Dude clearly didn't read any of the DEI policies he's championing.

[@ivanpadilla4479]

I agree with DEI at a surface level. In reality it just feels performative. Actions need to be taken, however eliminating that harboring of resentment as mentioned in the video is impossible. Getting everyone to think and feel the same is like nailing jell-o to a tree. Short story: in my work place for a long time coworkers were mostly black and latino. They hired 2 new white guys and someone said ”i thought we were about diversity here” my simple reply was “is white not part of diversity? Part of the whole?”

[@dj_laundry_list]

I miss when wisecrack was able to deal with subtlety and nuanced arguments instead of being a Fox News reaction channel

[@truckerdave8465]

Him finding out about LBJ was so hilarious to me.

[@Thessalin]

Omg. This is so dang funny. 😂 Yup! Welcome to American politics. 🍆

[@lystic9392]

You also use the term underrepresentation... Positions don't represent races. They represent people they found suitable for the job. I don't know that it's ethical to have this idea of a minimum or ideal percentage of skin colors for positions in companies. That seems like a very shortsighted way of looking at things. It could very well be that with absolutely no racism there would be a very high percentage of black barbers and a very low percentage of black CEO 's. For example due to cultural differences resulting in different interests or aspirations or experiences. It's also weird to take race for representation, when there are so many other things that matter about a person. It's also not true that having more people who look more like you in a high position automatically leads to better treatment or a more fair business culture. The quest for representation is mostly a way to try and fasttrack progress by skipping all the important parts, and ignoring everything it does wrong.

[@damianarvizu1095]

As a school teacher, I have experienced many different diversity trainings; almost one every year. In my experience, the objective is good. However the instructor has been the determining factor for the program’s success. I have seen some instructors behaving in very positive ways and keeps the audience engaged and informed. In other cases, the hostility towards the teachers and staff left feeling assaulted by constant scolding

[@dwarvenjesus4266]

There is no way to promote racial discrimination, and have it be a good thing.

I worked at a known company that had their own DEI initiative. I didn't think it was any bad or whatever, never got involved, even though I partially classify. Anyway, more important than that is that we realized that our boss was evaluated according to diversity metrics. Meaning: he got way more points if he promoted someone falling in the diversity bucket. I feel this creates perverse incentives. It's worse for those that are supposed to benefit: imagine getting a promotion and then realizing that it was a play that benefited your boss. I think the valuable part of DEI was the Inclusion. But the tokenism and evaluating people by their "diversity" efforts is really dangerous.

[@rickusa3617]

I’m seen this in several companies now. VPs competing to hire/promote as many diverse candidates as possible. In the places it is happening it breeds a ton of resentment.

[@mandisaw]

"I wonder if I really deserve this job from my dad's golf buddy?" ~ said no rich white dude, ever. Every good hire benefits your boss, that's how hiring works. Doesn't matter how they got in the door, if they can do the job. Bonuses for meeting company goals & KPIs are standard policy, so why should this goal be any different? This myth of substandard "diversity hires" just feeds imposter-syndrome and racism/sexism. Centuries of nepotism, backdoor-deals, and "give my friend/lover/coffee guy a job" haven't broken any companies yet, but a couple Black/brown people & women will? I call bullshit.

[@mandisaw]

​@@rickusa3617Resentment from whom, exactly? People get passed over for jobs all day, every day. Every one of them thought they were the most-qualified, and by definition, 99% of them were *wrong*. Why assume that a diverse candidate who won the role is less-qualified, when the far more likely answer is that *they* themselves were? Resentment is easier to swallow than humility, but it's a poison.

[@rickusa3617]

I’m not talking about one or two. A VP at a big corp will have 1000+ employees. After adding diversity as a target some have been less than subtle with >90% diversity in hiring. Imagine a 65 year old white male VP worried about being called out by DEI and what they will do.

[@mandisaw]

@@rickusa3617 "DEI" isn't a person or an entity, and "90% diversity" is a meaningless word-combo. Speak in real words so that people can understand you, please. None of what you said even makes sense in English.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Wish michael a good recovery! You guys always make My day 😊😊😊❤❤❤❤

[@TheRockingChar]

Michael's ill?

[@guybunchofnumbers123]

​@@TheRockingChar"under the weather", stream cancelled

[@LuisSierra42]

What happened?

[@TheRockingChar]

@@guybunchofnumbers123 Ah I seee, get well soon Michael!

[@oopsy444]

What happened to him? Was it in the video bc I think I missed it

[@ThatFlamingFroggo]

As a DEI "Champion" for a certain thrift chain, many are not management. Despite having some sense of authority on DEI topics, we really don't have much of any. It feels very performative. No great change is happening under these corporate led initiatives.

[@CiabanItReal]

It's all performative. Except when they get into HR.

[@B3Band]

Which category did you have to be in to get that title?

[@nathanielhellerstein5871]

DEI alleges good motives, but its methods are not good. It is top-down, corporate and legalistic. Its actual motive is money. Of course, the same can be said of the backlash.

[@hydrakn]

My work hasn't mentioned DEI company wide in an email or anything in over a year, but after GF there was a short time where it was in weekly emails and monthly syncs. Leadership changes came, layoffs, back to office hurtful policies, rollback on Juneteenth, and now maybe DEI gets mentioned in FEB but if so only at the bottom of a monthly email.

[@B3Band]

What is an example of a hurtful policy? Is failing to go around the room to find out who everyone likes to sleep with considered hurtful?

[@hydrakn]

@@B3BandI was specifically referring to the RTO point, but that could be a debate all its own. I think any interrogation room is going to be a hurtful experience idk

[@Poet801]

If ever you start a sentence with "They don't appreciate..." just stop, please do us all a favor and don't finish that thought lol smh

[@AngryPug76]

The best response is “Then that should tell you that you aren’t being as helpful as you think.” They absolutely hate hearing that.

[@LB-yg2br]

They don’t appreciate what they’ve got till it’s gone

[@johajoha460]

Sacrificial lamb comment. I want everyone to watch this video.

[@opinion4755]

Unsubscribed. Definitely not wise anymore.

[@zenever0]

You weren’t ever subscribed.

[@WisecrackEDU]

cool

[@DeltheaSimmons]

Thanks! Great show. The goals of DEI are laudable. Many of the actual programs, not so much. What started as a program to make life better for people of all colors has often morphed into either a way for companies to avoid EEOC lawsuits or a money grab for "experts" to come into these same companies and collect a fat check while demoralizing the workforce thus making labor organizing all but impossible. Whiteness is a payment to members of the majority. Victimhood, a payment to political minorities. These are two sides of a same coin that none of these workers own. And as long as we fight over this single coin, we will never own the our labor, our dignity or our freedom. Until CLASS is included as an actionable demographic, DEI will prove itself to be none of the three.

[@Labyrinth6000]

It’s making things worse, merit is the only way.

[@DeltheaSimmons]

@@Labyrinth6000 Solidarity is the only way.

[@reed6514]

​@@Labyrinth6000merit is A way. It does work for some people. But for actual success in life, merit is not the only factor. Circumstances play a role. Systems play a role.

[@monkeeseemonkeedoo3745]

​@@DeltheaSimmons Personally, I don't think the goal of 'equity' (at least as understood in DEI) is laudable, and it's a very corruptible goal too. I think equality of opportunity, equity in the sense of providing a high 'floor' to kids of all backgrounds, increasing public school funding in poor areas, getting parents more invested in their kids' education and future (especially early on), that is the way to go.

[@DeltheaSimmons]

As it is understood or as it is practiced? M"ost people hearing about DEI have not had to go to a workshop or have a talking to from HR. Their understanding of equity is generally a positive one. And I think we can all agree the "practice" of equity in most DEI programs is not a positive experience. @@monkeeseemonkeedoo3745

[@MelMediaServices]

Thank you for taking on this issue. As one who has now lived in this Nation for 69 years, and seen the issue of racism up close...as a youth not allowed to participate in a "gifted school" program because the quota of 1 Black child was already met, to the issues facing us today, it is a travesty. I know that the media plays into this issue by stoking the flames, to keep people talking about issues, most of which are created to stop progress. The USA is so obtuse about history, and about how important it is for us to collaborate, with all citizens bringing their best to the table, instead of creating a "straw man" for people to rail against. Keep making your thought-producing videos.

[@ipercalisse579]

And think about that: today white men are being rejected because they are not poc enough. The quota of 1 white male is reached.

[@gen_li7725]

The DEI training at the super progressive and inclusive place where I work is impressively white and liberal. The vibe screams white savior and when me and a friend looked into it, all of it is drafted and led by a white lady with no input from poc. Sooo our theory was proven right. My place of work is also supposedly an incredibly progressive camping store co-op 😂 (that’s been famously union busting for like a year now)

[@juicyparsons]

This is how it was at my college dorm 🤦🏾‍♀️

[@monkeeseemonkeedoo3745]

Yeap, it's always like this. Those same white people will turn into raging racists if you are conservative too.

[@justin4324]

I was hoping that there would be a more nuanced discussion of particular implementations of DEI. Admittedly I don't know much about the specifics of how DEI is implemented but it makes me think that people arguing against DEI are arguing against specific initiatives and not just saying "diversity is bad". I'd appreciate hearing the 'strong man' arguments (rather than 'straw man') from both sides to better understand both perspectives and the nuance of each.

[@zacharybosley1935]

There's a bit of trouble with running that line of interrogation in good faith, so I understand why Michael didn't spend more than a sentence or three examining why DEI programs haven't been remarkably successful.

[@justin4324]

@@zacharybosley1935 Yeah, I agree with that. The trouble I had is that because I'm not super up-to-date on the arguments from both sides I came away with the feeling that this video is basically the pro-DEI stance and that I now need to try to find the most most rational/legit person making arguments against DEI to really understand the topic as it currently stands. Does anybody know a good video that discusses the criticisms of DEI in a rational/legit way?

[@zacharybosley1935]

@justin4324 looking at it practically, there's probably only three major disagreements against DEI policies 1) the policies are ineffective, because even when they are implemented, typically it's done so corporations manage to avoid liability. 2) DEI as a policy system should be thrown out entirely, because it implies that we haven't done enough to undo the harms of systemic racism over the past century. 3) DEI Bad because it tells lies about our glorious mythic past (anybody who makes this argument deserves at least one raised eyebrow).

[@justin4324]

Thanks @@zacharybosley1935. I think #1 has the most area for productive discussion. Though the way you frame it, it assumes that all DEI policies *could be* effective but puts the blame of their ineffectiveness on the corporations implementing them. It seems like there are a wide range of DEI policies, some of which tend to be effective and, presumably, some of which that tend not to be effective. That's what I'm curious about understanding more fully. As far as #2 and #3 go, there are likely people who believe those but it doesn't seem like those people have a very nuanced take or a strong argument. So yeah, I'm curious to better understand the legitimate, nuanced criticisms that rational people make against DEI to better understand the (admittedly complex) topic.

[@kellharris2491]

But for many it really is diversity equals bad. It comes down to money and who has it or not. The conservative white has always understood how valuable education is and wanted to restrict access as much as possible while promoting their own. So when DUI was put in place they were required to have a certain amount of diversity instead of just white people. And so they have tried. That's a whole longer story of poor implementation but on the other side of things rather then diversity hire the Ivy Leagues ate all about connections and who you know and who you can bribe. Legacy students take priority. The family donates money or are alumnis. So basically it's a system that promotes those already wealthy. A report listed showed many legacy white students aren't qualified but they have the right family. This is the system in place. It's not based on merit and it never was. People cry foul when a small quota of diverse students get into Ivy League college but the class system is already geared towards white and rich students. You need to understand that race issues aren't just about hating people that are different its about class warfare and money. It is often socialism for the rich capitalism and bootstraps for everyone else. And that includes poor whites. You need to understand that at other times Irish and Italian weren't considered white. Asian favor has gone up and down. Blacks were deliberately disadvantaged through Jim crow and beyond. It's not just about hate it's about money and social power. Race in this era is the class order of the previous. It's a caste system. Malcolm X was a straight A Student before his white teacher told him that black men couldn't become lawyers. Then he dropped out. His family was attacked and then his home burned down because they had moved to a nice neighborhood that black people weren't allowed to have. Its a social caste system that you still see in some places and in some systems in the laws and in the US. It's not every where but in Mississippi they found at least over 200 unmarked and unreported graves outside of a Mississippi prison. And Baton Rouge had a house where the police would kidnap people and torture them. This is just now being reported because the idiots recorded themselves. This is in the capital of the state of Louisiana.

[@mnorth1351]

Equality of outcome versus equality of opportunity. This whole video ignores that distinction.

[@BaconDragon]

My calculus professor didn't mention 1+1=2 so they must be wrong.

[@nohbody369]

You know that we are fucked as a society when "thought leaders" become a thing. Honestly, they are as much a grift as "life coaches."

[@monkeeseemonkeedoo3745]

This channel turned basically into apologies for whatever the left does. I miss Jared

[@lukasanderson1341]

Really disappointed that yall didnt even address some of the legitimate issues around how DEI, however noble in principle and motivation, is problematic. Yacha Mounk has a great book on the subject called The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time

[@Alverant]

If you didn't even mention these "legitimate issues", why should the video?

[@lukasanderson1341]

@Alverant one of the most important example issues are the studies showing people react with even less empathy when forced into the racially charged DEI meetings than they do in team building exercises (e.g. sports). Comments aren't a great way to discuss such complex issues which is why I didn't initially mention specific things but rather a book that does go in depth

[@johnbarker5009]

Great video, and it's one that everyone should see. I grew up in a place where I literally didn't have to confront the reality of racism. There were no black or Native American people. Latinos were migrant laborers. Somehow, even from that privileged reality, I've been able to figure out that DEI is nothing but learning how to not be racially insensitive to the people of color around me, and I now live in a county that's more than 40% black. This stuff isn't hard, even for me. Don't tell people "I have a black friend." Don't ask to touch a black person's hair. Don't use archaic terms which are freighted with white supremacy. Take about a minute to learn why derogatory stereotypes of Native Americans make offensive sports mascots. Don't ask Asian people where they're from. And just freaking deal with the fact that the people of color in my workplace are also qualified, intelligent, and know how to do their jobs. It's really not that hard.

[@liambowne8184]

I think it's fine to ask where a person is from as long as your polite and respectful

[@johnbarker5009]

@@liambowne8184 you're right, as long as the implication isn't that the correct answer must be Hong Kong as opposed to Cleveland. That's the point I was trying to make, perhaps not clearly stated.

[@ipercalisse579]

Archaic terms... white supremacy???

[@seattlekarim964]

A top issue for students getting a secondary education is the high cost, and the DEI bureaucracy was getting expensive. An inexpensive college which focuses on a great quality education might do more for actual DEI than a DEI program at a $55,000 per year university.

[@mandisaw]

The "DEI Bureaucracy" is usually 2 lines of "Nice to Haves" in the job posting for HR Director. Sometimes half a part-timer. Only very large, or otherwise well-funded companies & colleges have a dedicated Diversity head, let alone an entire staff. Public uni budgets are public - why not just read it for yourself, instead of being led by the nose?

[@Sophiemara]

This is such a bad faith argument. Most university students would rather pay a little extra for diversity programs rather than see them cut. Paying for a couple HR people and a hiring coordinator to help facilitate DEI programs is such an insignificant cost when compared with the cost of operating a university overall.

[@mandisaw]

@@Sophiemara Funny how none of these folks mention stadiums & sports programs, luxury dorms, amenities, etc when complaining about spending excesses at some colleges. It's definitely the $80k/degree scholarship kid breaking the budget, not the $500k/yr football coach 🙄

[@starwall8755]

Nonsense. If we wanted to lower costs for secondary education we could just make it cheaper directly, say through government assistance? And certainly the ludicrous salaries being paid out to deans would be a better target for budgeting. This is just about white America feeling insecure and remorseless as usual towards anybody nonwhite.

[@B3Band]

Most university students don't want to pay ridiculous student loans because they were placed into a school they can't keep up at because they checked a few diversity boxes.

[@IgnacioFlores.]

Wisecrack is corporate owned.

[@WisecrackEDU]

This is true - though we're editorially independent.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

​@@WisecrackEDU🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤

[@nuwb]

Corporations are people, my friend.

[@darejohnson2251]

I honestly think Reconstruction was the lynchpin for the white supremacist capitalist state that we currently live in. Had the Confederacy actually faced consequences after surrendering, and Black people been integrated into society things might look vastly different today. So happy you guys provided that context

[@brianmckee2267]

Pardons never work. Same shit with Nixon.

[@williampowell3378]

Yeah

[@DrFunk-rk6yl]

No doubt they botched it.

[@realflo5623]

DEI is revenge by the incompetent on competence.

[@willyoung859]

People have just moved the goalpost from I don’t like black people in my movie to I don’t like black people in my movie because it’s forced diversity. The effect is still the same

[@TimmyTues]

No.

[@willyoung859]

good one king@@TimmyTues

[@superawesomejeff]

Open dialogue, empathy, and understanding are crucial in fostering a more constructive discourse.

[@rogerl19]

The misunderstanding is that it's a zero sum game. The meme of 3 people using ladders reach apples on a tree... the fatal flaw in the cartoon is the assumption there are infinite resources. That's not reality. Categorizing people into race affinity groups and assuming they are all the same is divisive quite literally. DEI based hiring is so condescending, like telling someone 'you're not good enough, so we need to add some extra points to prop you up'.

[@LB-yg2br]

Honest question: has ANYONE attended DEI training that helped ANYTHING? How many people have attended DEI training that made the work environment worse?

[@aranzen]

16:00 Just look at this comment section and you'll see a ton of people engaging in this backlash

[@acmesquares]

When is Wisecrack going to overthrow the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie?

[@peachypietro9980]

They're philosophers, not some communist vanguard or something....

[@mike110111]

Laws are objective facts. The racism of the past was objective, they were laws. The racism you are talking is speculative - there is inequity but it’s not objectively because of racism, not in the same way it was before

[@TravisSelassieSimbawafedha]

I Michael we don't tell people the good history until they turn 40 😅😅😅😂

[@WisecrackEDU]

So close!

[@sylviamontaez3889]

if companies wanted to actually be inclusive, they would provide parental leave and not do dodgy stuff abroad. regarding universities, it results in dumb stuff happening, especially regarding history. regarding Princeton and the university of arizona, their attempts at inclusivness are even more farcical when you take into account the fact they hired peter singer (who's bigoted towards the disabled triggered protests when appointed to the Princeton faculty in 1999) and noam chomsky (a genocide denier) respectively

[@RD-oj4jw]

If we are talking about the Cambodian genocide then There is literally a whole section in Manufacturing Consent where he talks about the Cambodian genocide. There is a youtuber called "Kraut" who isn't a reliable source who started this myth. There are things you can criticize Chomsky for but Lumping him with Peter Singer is unfair in my opinion.

[@sylviamontaez3889]

@@RD-oj4jw he was denying it in the 70s.

[@RD-oj4jw]

@@sylviamontaez3889 As someone who is into Chomsky i was wondering if you have some reliable sources so i could learn more and do a deep dive into this.

[@monkeeseemonkeedoo3745]

It's all performative, like for most of these woke idiots, the value is in showing everyone else how virtuous you are...

[@billyalarie929]

florida really taking the spotlight here good job, home state of mine. i left you for the last time in 2022, and i will never miss you as long as i live.

[@roberthoople]

Really helps explain the USA's love affair with Apartheid states.

[@reed6514]

I thinj it's mostly about who will play nice with our economic and military policy. I think apartheid isn't particularly relevant, but it's probably more likely for apartheid states to be on board with the subjugation of the masses in general soooo. I was reading about the Bay Of Pigs (from the CIA's official history), and it seemed the u.s. was quite friendly with Batista's authoritarian regime, but was not okay with a democratically elected Castro ... bc Communism challenges the American Way ™️©️ (They didn't explicitly say that last part. That is my opinion.)

[@ethansito5321]

DEI is racist. Happy to be a part of the backlash.

[@ccj2]

The fact that you all touch on topics like these, are exactly why Wisecrack is my favorite corner of the internet. The moment they got rid of AA, companies started to drop DEI workers and departments like a bad habit. It’s been very telling. The only upside I see so far is the next time I get hired as a Software Engineer, no one will be able to say I was a diversity hire. They’ll have to grapple with the fact that I’m actually qualified for the job. Imagine that.

[@VMNobles922]

I want to work in DEI but with a focus on disability

[@drewdrewski4188]

It's telling that leftists choose to highlight the "Diversity" part of DEI rather than "Equity," which is the part people actually object to since it implies racial quotas or at least preferences. As usual, leftists choose cowardice and blatant misrepresentation rather than honest discussion, because their ideas can't stand up to basic scrutiny. In this case, the entire history lesson Wisecrack gives is a poorly-disguised strawman. He realizes that people will oppose DEI if they understand that "diversity" actually means "racial discrimination," so he decided to lie for nearly 30 min rather than defend his bigoted beliefs.

[@DeltheaSimmons]

Thanks! The goals of DEI are laudable. Many of the actual programs, not so much. What started as a program to make life better for people of all colors has often morphed into either a way for companies to avoid EEOC lawsuits or a money grab for "experts" to come into these same companies and collect a fat check while demoralizing the workforce thus making labor organizing all but impossible. Whiteness is a payment to members of the majority. Victimhood, a payment to political minorities. These are two sides of a same coin that none of these workers own. And as long as we fight over this single coin, we will never own the our labor, our dignity or our freedom. Until CLASS is included as an actionable demographic, DEI will prove itself to be none of the three.

[@matthewjund3355]

I feel like this channel used to do real deep dives into issues and tackle them from a 360 pov and now they cherry pick ideas to support their predetermined conclusion. To have an entire video on DEI and not even mention why in a post-October 7th world it is a relevant topic is either willfully ignorant or just in bad faith. When the DEI leaders are choosing who does and doesn’t get “included” it’s clear that whatever the original intent was, it has lost its way entirely

[@matthewjund3355]

@@andrewwood763I can’t tel if you’re being a dick or don’t know how to use Google

[@PlywoodFraternity]

this is either bait or you just literally don’t understand anything they talked about in the video

[@wilmofosho]

My sister's husband is Latino and works at a large bank and he is on a Latino DEI board and he told me that almost all the other Latino people in there with him are openly racist toward everyone, but he said especially black people. So chuckling at the idea that DEI programs promote racism isn't really funny because if you just look at it from a very simple point of view, you're gathering people together to tell them they're not different than other people and we should all be included. But that in fact tells everybody that we are different and human psychology has proven. When things are different we exclude them. So the best thing to do would be stop addressing the problem. Stop telling people they're different and eventually people will be people. Not white people. Black people African American people Hispanic people Latino x people. I mean these are all labels provided by the same people promoting diversity inclusion...

[@paulciampo2104]

Over the years I've seen discrimination and racism against white people specifically, while claiming that you want their cooperation in systemic change... Feels a bit incompatible, my friend. Yes, there is a perceptual divide, where the concept of diversity invokes the insertion of unqualified people who are only there to be "diverse" - then there the idea that if someone is fundamentally wrong, it SHOULD change. I'm a skeptic in this situation. The public existence of diversity and the people who promote and the whole movement - they seem to be akin to the social justice warrior types that "MUST BE RIGHT" by default and are allergic to questioning or dissent. You've seen it in the film industry, for example... I'm all for these policies if they make moral, human and equality related sense - but the presentation has been one of hate - and I ask you... Who is going to support a change that demonizes people? Whether you're right or wrong? I think all of us assume that the way things work is one of two ways... You either deserve to move up OR you've got connections. When the understanding from the beginning hasn't been about race - and then the "movement" for change is despicable and unnecessarily offensive... It's like the modern extremist feminists... Who wants to engage with you when you're so polarized, hateful and harmful... In a generalized way - the way in which racism and prejudice starts in the first place? "Those men." They aren't all the same tho... "Those white men." Privileged white men? Poor white men... Or do you mean the blue collar white men? You mean the good natured white men? Or the ones who are having secret sex parties on their private island? Hatred against a whole group of people will not stand - so let's get specific about what we want and actually... Oh, I don't know - be tactful and create an appropriate and effective presentation... IF its change we actually need. Otherwise, people come off as asshats

[@seanhovan7426]

Can't have equity without discrimination

[@lysanamcmillan7972]

If by "Discrimination" you mean "forcing white people to realize they can't run things alone anymore," fine by me, snakeboy.

[@AmirDarkOne]

hiring based on anything other then merit = discrimination

[@Mitouson]

I think the main problem is the Idea that someone would get a job or position without merit just to fill a DEI quota. I remember watching a movie that was called The Secret of My Success, with Micheal J. Fox. He went to New York to work after getting his college degree only to find out that the company he planned to work for went bankrupt and he no longer had a job. He went to several places to interview and one place said he was perfect for the job except he wasn't a minority woman... this is DEI in a nutshell. How long would that position stay open and that company lack in order to fill a check mark on a list?

[@imanigordon6803]

That doesn’t exist

[@abhishekbhandari6362]

I think that this channel has really really been dropping its own standards ever since the founder stopped making videos.

[@lystic9392]

I think the path forward is not to use quota's based on race or sex for hiring or firing people. I don't think you can righten wrongs by repeating mistakes to innocent people. I'm afraid that makes things worse. I don't believe representation will help much if at all, though it may. Because I don't think representation means much in the end. We're talking race, sex. It's not the important factors. I think the path forward will be to learn to prevent radicalization (I consider racism a form of radicalization, and race targets likewise). And to return nuance, a lack of fear for opinions, and a good dose of humanism (a base level of respect towards others) to the west. Perhaps through education. Though I fear for the current American youth. I don't think they grew up with healthy ideas, and I'm not sure how much they still value each other over their skin colors, or how much they still value freedom of expression.