1) - Confession time:
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I in the name of non-discrimination came out on exactly the WRONG SIDE of the Diversity Training issue, due at least in part to my innate stubbornness & white male Christian heterosexual southern-born-and-raised privilege.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I in the name of non-discrimination came out on exactly the WRONG SIDE of the Diversity Training issue, due at least in part to my innate stubbornness & white male Christian heterosexual southern-born-and-raised privilege.
2) - I used my new fascination - internal social media at the Federal @DeptofDefense agency where I worked from 1979 to 2012 - to sound off frequently against quotas and set-asides, and against every move by our EEO office ...
3) - ... to take the fight against discrimination into Affirmative Action territory. We had a newsgroups system fashioned after USENET, and we had internal e-mail, and I became somewhat notorious for my activity in both - quite probably to the detriment of my promotability.
4) - Around the time of the turn of the millennium, and I don't remember whether it was before or after the events of 9/11/2001, the EEO office scheduled diversity expert Jane Elliott to come give her "Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes" presentation to our agency.
5) - They indicated in their announcement that they had wanted to make attending/watching the presentation mandatory. I objected in the strongest possible terms. Along with the EEO attitudes I've just described, I had a growing disdain for management trends & mandatory training.
6) - What I did not understand then, and what was explained to me repeatedly until, years later, I came to see its value, were the concept of White Privilege & Systemic Privilege, and that affirmative & awareness measures need to be taken to combat what is unconscious, ingrained.
7) - I understand that now, & from this new perspective - new to me (I'm 63 and was over 40 back then) - I look upon the @realDonaldTrump Administration plan to eliminate federal antiracism training as a HUGE mistake.
Critical Race Theory & White Privilege are important issues.
Critical Race Theory & White Privilege are important issues.
8) - I am sorry, as a retired civilian @DeptofDefense professional, that it took me so very long to see that.
And I hope @realDonaldTrump and the Federal agencies under his authority can come to see that, and will reverse the decision to eliminate this training.
And I hope @realDonaldTrump and the Federal agencies under his authority can come to see that, and will reverse the decision to eliminate this training.
9) We need an actively anti-racist government workforce, in order to help us become more anti-racist as a country.
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