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That the new administration is opposed to "DEI" (and is quick to use it as a scapegoat for just about everything bad) is unsurprising and was expected, but the aggressiveness of today's anti-DEI purge is still jarring and disturbing. They are creating an atmosphere in which any attempt to hire, promote, or engage with anyone other than a white male will be regarded as inherently suspect.

The damage - to both individuals and to our institutions - will likely be both swift and long lasting.

I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. EVERY SINGLE TIME I've been part of a committee or decision-making body that was explicitly mandated to consider diversity as part of its process, it resulted in better, more thoughtful decisions and outcomes. EVERY TIME.

Diversity yields enormous, and often unexpected, benefits. And inclusion is not a zero-sum game.

Matt Blaze

Anyway, the ferocity of this, and especially the Orwellian mandate to rat out "suspect" colleagues, is even more chilling than I expected.

@mattblaze It's beyond aggressive. In the NASA circular doing the rounds, the thing to be ratted out isn't even clearly defined. That makes the message, "Give us someone to beat up on in your organization, or we'll treat you as a fifth columnist." People will be thinking seriously about emigrating.

@mattblaze He thrives on sowing chaos. That’s part of his goal in every decision. It’s something that people in his last admin struggled with. He makes a point of pitting employees against each other.

@mattblaze Doesn't this informing on your neighbors and colleagues smack of authoritarian regimes, like Hitler's fascism and Stalin's communism?

@cj @mattblaze Of course. Back in the day, if one didn't like a neighbour, they told the SS that the person was [insert what the Nazis don't like here], and the person magically disappears.
I wonder when the heel-clicking starts in the US.

@cj @mattblaze yes. They’re starting with DEI as a test, if it works and people do obey then they’ll move on to even more terrifying goals.

@trisweb @cj @mattblaze As we saw with the first term, they know they can push boundaries and it'll get normalized quickly.

@mattblaze My understanding is that companies that use DEI are more profitable per person than otherwise. Examples: having Spanish speakers means not selling a car called "Nova" (it doesn't go) in Spain; The dude who invented flaming hot Cheetos.

All these companies divesting DEI will find themselves making less money...