If you read one article about the ridiculous District Attorney of Fulton County (Atlanta), Georgia, fani willis – and, more generally, about the asterisk Diversity/Equity/Inclusion (DEI) puts in front of every qualified minority person – read Kira Davis’s article at Newsweek.
Here is how it starts:
As a Black woman and working professional, I’ve never been a huge fan of affirmative action and the recent rise of critical theory, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives has only bolstered my resistance. While it may seem necessary to some in order to right the wrongs of the past, I can sum up why these measures are an unmitigated disaster for hard-working Black Americans in two words:
Fani Willis.
Willis is the prosecutor in one of the nation’s major cities and most high profile cases against former President Donald Trump. Her position and the historic nature of the case she is prosecuting put her in an elite class most Black people will never even dream of reaching. One would expect such a person to be polished and classy, and able to remain so even while responding to an uncomfortable barrage of questions on the witness stand.
Instead, what we got was a defiant, childish, sour woman who spoke with the sophistication of teenage girl at her first college party.
It wasn’t simply that she sounded angry—she also sounded stupid.
As I watched her testimony with my husband, an unspoken dread passed between us, weighted by a certain type of sadness. We understood instinctively that we were watching result of a diversity-first system that ends up elevating the weak while simultaneously besmirching the strong.
And here is another key passage:
Every time someone like me seeks professional advancement, I am forced to wonder how many people in the room think I shouldn’t be there before I’ve even opened my mouth. I will have to swallow offenses I should really be battling, because I must battle not only my professional challengers, but the specter of the “angry, defiant black woman” who only got her job because she’s not white. Many of my colleagues will look at any complaint I have as frivolous and rooted in entitlement. I must be my best, and then be even better than my best, because of the pathetic expectations Willis and her counterparts have sown on behalf of the rest of us.
Want more? You have the link. I urge you to use it.
Ms. Davis’ point, of course, is that if you elevate people based not on their abilities/merit but to fill some imagined-to-be necessary quota based on skin color, you are not only cheating qualified people out of what they have earned – based, ironically, on the color of their skin – but you are putting that asterisk in front of every qualified minority as well.
Do think this is a good idea? If so, I have a few questions for you:
-Suppose someone you care about has just been involved in a serious accident and is being rushed to a hospital emergency room. It may be a matter of life or death. Do you want a DEI doctor to be on duty?
-Suppose you have been sued for a large amount of money, feel it is unfair, and are fighting it in court. Will you hire a DEI lawyer to handle your case?
-Suppose you are flying with your family on vacation. Do you want a DEI pilot…..ok, I think you get the idea.
Now a final question: in each of these situations, as you hope for the best possible doctor, lawyer or pilot…
…if you find that a minority person is the doctor/lawyer/pilot, will you assume that person is there because she/he has earned the position/is demonstrably competent? Or will you be concerned the person in question may be deficient, but hired to fill a quota – a reality for those who are DEI and a slap in the face for those who are not.
That is what Kira Davis is talking about. And she is dead-on, 100% correct.
