This document should be in the Smithsonian. It should be preserved as part of the written history of American democracy. I can hear the spirit of Thomas Paine saying, "Well done." https://t.co/vSs4BpfBU4 — Paul Epps (@paulepps) October 13, 2024 Read more →
EppsNet Archive: DEI
Racist Dog Whistles for Racist Dogs?
A racist dog whistle is like a regular dog whistle but it can only be heard by racist dogs. https://t.co/Yqy0pfNooq — Paul Epps (@paulepps) April 27, 2024 A longstanding argument against affirmative action is that if you’re a member of an affirmative action-eligible group, it’s difficult — it’s not impossible, but it’s difficult — for anyone to figure out whether your achievements are the result of merit or whether they were gifted to you. If someone wants to assume the worst, the numbers back them up. For decades, affirmative action candidates have been admitted to colleges and professional schools with much lower academic qualifications than other candidates. DEI is the new affirmative action. (It seems illegal to me since Title VII doesn’t differentiate between “good” discrimination and “bad” discrimination.) Companies and organizations have been promoting themselves as supporters of DEI, creating the problem that DEI-eligible employees are often seen as… Read more →
Unintended Consequences of DEI
Scott Yenor’s recent report on the rise of the equity regime at Texas A&M (TAMU) provides a glimpse into the gap between DEI’s public claims and its real, material meaning. Formally, Yenor notes, “diversity” is portrayed as the principle that “everyone and every group should be valued” by “embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of difference”; in practice, it represents “an identity-based approach to society,” intended to box out “now-disfavored groups like whites and males through ‘political quotas.’” Formally, “equity” is allegedly aimed at “overcoming challenges and bias to achieve equal opportunity”; in practice, it redounds to “equality of outcomes plus reparations.” Formally, “inclusion” means “bringing the formerly excluded into activities and decision-making so as to share power”; in practice, it’s “enforced segregation of people by race” and “restrictions on speech” for disfavored groups. Yenor substantiates those claims with a startling statistic: As the DEI regime advanced through TAMU —… Read more →