I don’t even have words.
Just kidding. Of course I have words. Lots of them.
It is possible for diversity training to be divisive. But because something is possible does not mean it is or has to be. I think some people are making it divisive. They're taking a good thing and twisting it, turning it around, because they're afraid or uncomfortable or don't see the need to understand privilege or don't want to share power.
In my 20 years of active duty Air Force service (my opinions are mine alone and do not reflect the USAF or USG) I have participated in lots and lots of diversity training that has helped me become a better person. I'd be the first person to tell you I still have a long, long way to go. Ok, maybe not the first person. There are probably many people in line already to tell you that.
None of the training I participated in was ever anti-American.
None of this training ever suggested the United States was inherently racist or evil.
The United States has many issues that need to be addressed, that can help us and the people of the world to be better, but the United States is not evil. And none of this training ever suggested any race or ethnicity was inherently racist or evil.
This is different from diversity training, but civil rights movements can sometimes be strong in their voice and actions. This is understandable. Usually these people have been oppressed a long time, and usually previous attempts to voice their concerns have been ignored or even repressed.
“Militant” reactions are not ideal, and should be discouraged, or at least not encouraged. Most people don't find "militant" reactions acceptable. However, they are, at least in the short term, completely understandable until long-unmet needs can be recognized, wrongs righted, and reforms made that address the underlying causes. Diffusing a situation is better than exploding it. I have made this mistake many times.
Sometimes the pendulum swings a little bit in the other direction before it reaches center again. Imagine a clock pendulum swinging from 3:00 to 8:00 and then 5:00 before reaching 6:00. I understand the fear. I understand the pushback. There is worry that it won't stop at 8:00, that it will go to 9:00 or even 10:00. But a good stabilizer will allow things to play out for a while and address root causes in order to bring things back to center.
If you had been repressed for a long time (or perceived that, whether or not others agree), then you would have a lot of pent up anger, too. Everyone needs to understand that and help diffuse, working towards long-term solutions, rather than entrenching and antagonizing. I have been guilty of this; we all probably have.
Most diversity training is not divisive unless you are resistant to the message, which is awareness of privilege, equity, and inclusiveness. If you are resistant to awareness (which may mean awareness of your privilege), you might find diversity training divisive. If you are resistant to equity (which may mean sharing your power from privilege with those who don’t have that privilege), you might find diversity training divisive. If you are resistant to inclusiveness (which means tolerance of others that are unlike you or whom you don’t understand), then you might find diversity training divisive.
If racism and other forms of discrimination did not exist, we would not require training at all. We would never “see race” or need to even discuss it.
At this point, though, racism and other forms of discrimination do still exist, and are much more prevalent than most people realize. People who do not experience racism or discrimination have a hard time seeing it.
White people have a hard time seeing the suspicious looks that many people of color experience (“the look”) their entire lives! Many men have a hard time seeing how mansplaining, manspreading, and toxic masculinity (toxic masculinity is a only a subset of masculinity, and is subject to fair debate) lead to subtle and not-so subtle harmful patriarchy. Many people of wealth can not fathom why poor folks do not simply “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” and look down upon people who have given up to a life of welfare. And so on.
It’s much easier to see the discrimination you experience firsthand. It is much easier to be blind to the privilege you have.
And that is why we see so much pushback from people who have privilege. They either don’t see it or don’t want to give up their power. Or they’re afraid of what the world would look like if power was shared more equitably. Or they’re simply more comfortable with what it looks like now and are afraid of change. But what if it were you? You would want change, too, if not for you, at least for your children and grandchildren.
There is another reason for pushback, too, that will be addressed more later. Most people have privilege in some areas but suffer a lack of privilege in other areas. Some people rack and stack lots of privilege in lots of areas. Some people hardly have any privilege in any area.
But because racism and other forms of discrimination do in fact still exist, training can help to raise awareness, teach people how to treat each other with equity, and teach people how to be inclusive.
This will make society happier and more enjoyable for all. We all share the same swimming pool, so to speak, folks. It doesn’t matter if your side is warm and clean, but the other side is dirty and cold. There can be differences, but let’s work to eliminate the unfairness, to level the playing field, and give everyone true equal opportunities, not the myth of the American Dream that we want, but isn’t really there.
Training alone will not eradicate racism and other forms of discrimination, but that does not mean we should not do it. Training is an important part of a healthy, balanced breakfast, if by breakfast I mean measures to make society fair and happier for all.
Racism and other forms of discrimination might never be completely eliminated, but finding effective ways to reduce racism and other forms of discrimination is noble. At least until you reach a point of diminishing returns, efforts to reduce racism and discrimination, and not just in workplace training, will make society happier and therefore more productive. See pool analogy above.
If you were a person who felt oppressed, you would want society to evolve too. Think about that for a moment. If you feel defensive about anti-discrimination training and civil rights movements, try really hard to imagine how you might feel if you lived their life instead of yours.
The United States is not alone in racism or other forms of discrimination. Therefore the United States not evil, even if racism and discrimination is evil
No one race or ethnicity is solely racist. No race is evil.
Most racism and discrimination is subconscious and only apparent in subtle ways that no less affects those who suffer the consequences. That’s one of the reasons why the underprivileged see it better than the privileged. So don’t beat yourself up. No one is calling you racist, unless you embrace racism or discrimination. If that’s the case, my heart goes out to you, too, because we aren’t born that way. We learn to hate, and it’s heartbreaking.
But that doesn’t mean that racism and other discrimination isn’t there, subconsciously, and therefore needs to be addressed. A lot of times this surfaces when we aggregate lots of data instead of looking at individual cases.
For instance, any one individual person of color might not be stopped or arrested more than any individual white person, but on the whole, as a group, people of color are stopped or arrested more than white people.
Any individual person of color might be found not guilty for a crime that a white person is convicted for, but on the whole, as a group, people of color are convicted far more often than whites, especially if the victim is white.
The same is true with severity of sentencing and many other things.
That does not necessarily make lawyers, judges, or juries racist. Some obviously are. But everyone, including me, harbor some form of racism and discrimination programming subconsciously. The goal is to identify this programming and reduce it to make society better.
We all are programmed from birth. We receive instructions by observing, and then learn to make heuristic (shortcut judgment) decisions about people and events to make life efficient. We stereotype because it’s efficient. But it’s faulty and limiting. We need to learn to hack our own minds to escape the falseness of our own subconscious stereotypes that hurt other people, that hurt society, that would hurt you, if it were you.
All people are inherently racist and discriminating to varying degrees depending on their life experiences. People are born like fresh computers awaiting new programs. They absorb information like sponges: what they observe from their parents, teachers, friends, TV and movies, and all the little interactions in daily life. These tiny interactions are like little whittle shavings off a wood block, shaping our values and image of self and others, whether we realize it or not. Usually not.
All people have varying degrees of privilege based on a number of factors. How they deal with privilege or lack of privilege is the individual choice, but it is still noble for society to try to reduce discrimination, and to level the privilege playing field. Individuals might not enjoy the full benefit of a particular privilege class, or one privilege class (eg, being white) might be reduced by another (eg, being poor or under-educated). That does not negate the fact that, on the whole, those privilege classes exist.
Privilege Point Game: This isn’t exactly how it works, but just play along with my little thought experiment for a moment. These numerical values are purely hypothetical and not based in any statistical study.
Imagine each of the following classes gives you “privilege points”. Look yours up, add up the total, and there your privilege rank in society. Again, these numbers are bogus and the thought experiment is oversimplified, but serves to illustrate the concept.
RACE
55 White
20 Asian
15 Black
10 Hispanic/Native American/Islander/Any other
GENDER
60 Male
40 Female
0 Any other
HOUSEHOLD INCOME*
120 $1,000,000+
50 $250,000
20 $100,000
10 $50,000
0 < $50,000
* This varies by region, too. The cost of living, and therefore salary, of NYC is quite different from Manhattan, Kansas.
TOTAL FAMILY WEALTH (MINUS DEBT)
120 $1 Billion+
50 $1 Million
20 $100,000
10 $1
0 Debts are greater than assets
RELIGION*
40 Mainstream/secular Christian
30 Atheist/agnostic
20 Fundamentalist/Mormon/Seventh Day Adventist, etc
10 Other religion
* these values vary greatly by region
SEXUALITY*
60 heterosexual
20 gay or lesbian
15 bisexual
5 any other
* these values can vary in very conservative or very liberal areas
EDUCATION
50 Master’s degree or above
30 Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
15 2 year college degree
5 High school graduate/GED
0 High school dropout
OCCUPATION*
40 Executive
30 Professional (doctor/lawyer/etc) or mid-management
20 Office worker
10 Blue collar (driver/technician/retail/farmer/etc)
0 Unemployed
* self-employed depends on type of occupation and size of enterprise
AGE*
10 80+
20 60-80
30 40-60
20 20-40
10 <20
* Can vary greatly depending on location and circumstances
CITIZENSHIP
60 US born
30 Naturalized citizens
10 Legal aliens
0 Illegal aliens
DISABILITY
70 None (perceived)
30 Minor (perceived)
0 Major (perceived)
The total possible number of points is 1,300. Household Income and Total Family Wealth are allotted 200 points each instead of the usual 100 points since power and privilege in this country depends so much on income and wealth.
Conclusion: No one will learn a new perspective if they're not willing. You cannot force people to learn. But you can set a standard of behavior for society and enforce that while rebuilding the values and culture from the ground up. It's hard work and will take a long time, but planting a forest is worth it to generations to follow.
I get it. Most people don't like change. Some people who have privilege don't see it or don't want to give it up. Most people only see the privilege they don't have, and not the privilege they do have.
Addendum: I often edit my posts a bit the day or two after publishing, but this thought is significant enough to call it out.
I thought it was obvious, but maybe not: pointing out that something needs improvement should be a good thing. It can be a good thing if done in the right spirit, with love and understanding, which is what I had intended.
Racism and discrimination has improved over the years, but still has a long way to go. Just because it has improved a lot doesn't mean we should rest on our laurels. I am hopeful that people have the desire to live in a fair and just society, and are willing to do the reflection and changes necessary to continue the momentum in a safe and reasonable manner.
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