Q: Who's afraid of DEI?
A: Little wussy white boys who know they can't compete with the rest of us
Of course, there are so many things to be horrified by happening right now - it would be hard to even know where to start.
Obviously: closing the Institute for Museum and Library Services is a disaster for libraries. I could list off all the things we will lose from just this disaster, and it’s an impressive list. Heck, they paid for my PhD! And so, so, so many other things that touch libraries every day. And if you are here, you have heard it and you are probably depressed about it with me.
But I think there is a foundational issue here that is…pathetic and sad.
The very loud, very public terror of diversity. Of equity. Of inclusion. This is the pathetic mewling of a dying age of overstuff-with-privilege white guy. A guy who knows that he didn’t get where he is by being good at things - let alone by being the best at anything. He got there because his rich daddy stole a lot of money, taking away it from workers and customers. He managed to get the current silly little fool positioned ahead of everyone who could compete with him and win.
The most obvious example of this is Don Trump.
I mean: look at him. He’s this pathetic little orange person, frantically waving his hands around and screaming. He believes nothing. He has no center. He does not have friends. He says whatever idea the last person who talked to him said. Nothing matters to him except frantically trying to look like a tough guy - when everyone can see that he is far from it.
(I’m not that kind of doctor - but everyone thinks he has dementia of some sort, don’t we? Does it feel incredibly sad, to see the people around him propping him up and letting him scream for attention, while they do the work of Getting Evil Done behind him? It really feels like they are taking advantage of a feeble old man at this point.)
He isn’t smart. Even with all his daddy’s money he couldn’t get into one of the really impressive schools. He had to start at Fordham University, and then transfer to Wharton Business school - only for a Bachelors degree. And sure: these are lovely schools. But if you are a really wealthy person, you can buy your way into a better education. And if you can’t? You really suck at school. That’s not the most important thing for everyone - but for someone who wants to be a good President: Yes. You need a first class education, and to continue to educate yourself for the rest of your life. Anything else is pathetic, and not nearly good enough.
Keep in mind, this was 1968 - and young men without a college deferment were being drafted at a rapid pace to go to Vietnam. Cadet Bone Spurs (TM the war hero from Illinois: Senator Tammy Duckworth!) managed to buy his way out of that - avoiding anything that might be hard, or challenge him to improve himself, or let him have the experience of working with others to do important things, or provide him with some useful skills. That’s unimpressive.
It seems like he struggles with reading. I’m not making fun of this - reading problems are real, and affect all kinds of people. But shouldn’t the most powerful person in the Western World…be able to read and understand difficult concepts? How could we expect this person to be taken seriously in the world, with other people who have a deep grounding in history and leadership and everything else a President needs to know? I found an interesting article at Divergents Magazine that discussed all of this in more detail that I would know. The idea that he could have been helped at a young age, given skills in learning to read, learning emotional regulation, helped with his (alleged) ADHD? He could have had an entirely different, and much better, life.
People who do not read, do not read books, do not read a wide variety of sources and ideas and information - they cannot be expected to understand big issues and ideas. They cannot create their own big ideas. Reading not only gives you knowledge, it gives you a vast well of emotional intelligence. It lets you understand people who are not like you. There are other ways to accomplish these things, but a person would really have to work at it. And “working hard” does not seem like something Don excels at. His skills seem to be grifting, lying, and being terrible to other people.
Don has made his way through life, I’m guessing with a lot of shame over not being able to understand so many things, by being a weasel. Every time I see him, all I see is some little squirmy trapped animal, blindly scrabbling around and biting and scratching everything. And that works for a while, in some situations. But it’s not a long term strategy, and it’s not how you build over time.
Notice how nobody around him seems to like him. Sure, a few people seem awed by him, and I’m guessing he has some sort of charisma. (I’m blind to it; but I’ve been laughing at this guy for forty years, so may not be the best person to comment. If you weren’t reading Doonsbury in the 1980s, I’m sorry you missed it!) And for sure, some people are afraid of him - but that seems to be passing also. Being a bully only works for so long. Once people see that you have nothing to back it up, they stop being afraid.
Then look around at the other little wussy boys who are squalling about how unfair it is that people become able to be equal. That people, other than just white male people, get counted and get hired. That all people, whether they were born to rich daddies or not, get to be part of society and to have opportunities. Look at how much fun they are having as they take social security away from elderly people, taking away health insurance from poor sick people, sending innocent people to jail in terrible conditions (or just keeping them here in jails in terrible conditions). It’s so pathetic. And of course - absolutely tragic for the people in their power. But I just keep noticing how very sad and foolish and silly people sound when squalling “no DEI! no DEI! it’s so very scary!!”
It is certainly interesting to see all of this happening. And predictable. Hopefully in the future when people see that a convicted felon, rapist, dementia sufferer tells you all kinds of obvious lies - we will know not to believe them. And we, as a society, will make better decisions. Sigh.
And until then, while we survive the next few years - go to your library. Visit a lot. Use all the resources. Take advantage of all the good things libraries provide.
Because it does not matter what these scared wussy little boys do; there will ALWAYS be libraries. They cannot defeat that.
Oooh, I like that one.