Comment by spondylosaurus | Hacker News Reader

Comment by spondylosaurus | Hacker News Reader

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I have literally never once heard language like that from DEI professionals; in every context I've encountered them, they've basically been an emissary of HR and had a "be nice but don't rock the boat" mentality, for better or for worse.

And I'm speaking as someone who falls into several ""diverse"" hiring categories. As much as I appreciate the philosophy of DEI work, I personally find most of it pretty toothless. There have even been multiple instances of myself and other rank-and-file coworkers trying to have discussions about bigotry at large (not even in the workplace itself), only to be shut down by those very same DEI coordinators under the guise of "let's use kind words instead of unkind words," because it's not good HR-speak to call a spade a spade.

Like, these are people employeed by huge corporate entities, not radical freedom fighters. A lot of it is just image work to make sure your company doesn't do or say shit that makes you look bad.

> There have even been multiple instances of myself and other rank-and-file coworkers trying to have discussions about bigotry at large (not even in the workplace itself), only to be shut down by those very same DEI coordinators under the guise of "let's use kind words instead of unkind words

How do you have these conversations such that you're using unkind words? Are you racially stereotyping people as bigots?

> I'm speaking as someone who falls into several ""diverse"" hiring categories.

Yeah, that makes sense. If your intersectionality was switched those conversation probably would have gotten people fired.

> I have literally never once heard language like that from DEI professionals

Like the "whiteness" thing from the other post. Rules for thee and not for me.

> not good HR-speak to call a spade a spade.

"Although the term has its origins in Greek literature, the subsequent negative connotations with the word 'spade' means that the phrase should be used with caution or not at all." -- Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative, Stanford

You might not be held to the same standard as other employees, if you can freely speak in this fashion...

I had someone from our diversity team say, in a meeting of 100+, that the problem that the team are trying to combat is "whiteness". This coming from a white woman who quite openly said that she'd only recently started identifying as diverse because one of her parents spoke a non-English language.

Oh boy... sounds like a piece of work :P

I know the type you're referring to—people punchdrunk on their own performative "activism" who love to make everything about themselves—and they're pretty cringey, but at least in my experience they're far from the norm on corporate DEI teams. Honestly super ballsy of her to pull the Diverse White Lady move like that... I'd be shocked if no one else on the team gave her a talking-to, unless (1) she's the boss or (2) everyone else on the diversity team is white.

(Which does happen, and isn't great, but also is pretty funny in juxtaposition with the claims you'll hear about DEI teams being radical Marxist plots or whatever. Half the time these teams are just a bunch of HR managers named Linda who get the letters in LGBT mixed up.)

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