• 154 Posts
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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 15th, 2023

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  • Just not engaging with foolish arguments.

    Who are “the colonists?” Should we boycott Christian Palestinians who were part of the colonization of the crusades? Should we allow companies to do business with Jews in historically Jewish areas like the Old City of Jerusalem or Hebron, even though they are are on the Palestinian side of the Green Line? Do colonists include Palestinians who came to the West Bank from Jordan between 1948 and 1967? Are all Israelis colonists, regardless of whether they are Jewish, Palestinian, Druze, etc?

    It seems like the comment was either a cowardly way of avoiding saying “yes, boycott the Jews,” or else it came from a place of astounding historical ignorance. Either way, it’s not worth my time to continue.

    Will the reply to this be a thoughtful, informed response, or a zingy one-liner designed to dunk on an unpopular opinion?







  • America is a nation of immigrants and mixed cultures. In the early 1900s, there was great pressure to acculturate to the “American” way of doing things. Immigrants changed their names, clothes, foods, and language to match the “mainstream.” There was a push to build a “colorblind” society.

    By the 1960s-70s, younger people began to realize that “acculturation” really meant erasing cultural heritage and acquiescing to white, Anglo, male-dominated culture. So there was a movement to preserve, celebrate, and empower differences between people.

    This gave rise to the Black Power movement, creation of the term “Hispanic” and the Latin American ethnicity, Women’s Lib, Gay Pride, and even the rise of pizza delivery chains (which was regarded as a somewhat exotic ethnic food at the time).

    That tension continues in the USA between recognizing and celebrating cultural differences, and becoming a melting pot of many cultures becoming one.





  • That’s not actually how DEI works.

    DEI initiatives provide training to help people in organizations make less biased decisions and be more respectful and inclusive of people from various backgrounds.

    For example, instead of hiring someone from the boss’s alma mater, they might hire someone from a HBC who is equally qualified and helps bring a different perspective. Or hire a native Spanish speaker for a bilingual position instead of someone who spent a year abroad in Barcelona.

    I’m happy to show studies about why it is necessary to correct hiring biases, and how organizations benefit from the efforts.