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  2. DEI Distilled to its Essence
May 9, 2025 at 10:32 AM

DEI Distilled to its Essence

Bartholomew Xerxes Ogilvie, Jr.
@BartholomewXerxesOgilvieJr

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The forces of wokeness have struck another blow:

New York City's Times Square installed a statue of a 12-foot-tall Black woman in casual clothing that its creator hopes will encourage people to reflect on "greater cultural diversity"....

The Times Square website noted that the large Black woman statue is not one particular woman, but is made as a contrast to other sculptures, including "a subtle nod to Michelangelo’s David" with its posture. The website also said that "the woman in Grounded in the Stars cuts a stark contrast to the pedestaled permanent monuments — both white, both men — which bookend Duffy Square, while embodying a quiet gravity and grandeur."

Here we see the essence of the DEI mindset: an inability to perceive the value of -- maybe even the existence of -- individuals. Apparently, it doesn't matter who those men are that the other statues honor. They are statues of white men, and that is all that matters. Nothing they did or believed is important.

To counter this, the leftists chose not to erect a statue of a black woman whose achievements are equally worthy of recognition. I have no doubt that such women exist, but again, it doesn't matter. All black women, like all white men, are interchangeable. So instead they put up a statue to honor a generic black woman.

This inability to perceive the value of the individual is at the very heart of what's wrong with them, and defeating that evil philosophy is (in my opinion) the most important problem we face.

This post was promoted to the Main Feed at the recommendation of Ricochet's members.

Discussion (25)

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    Susan Quinn@SusanQuinn·1y

    Excellent post, BXO. Your analysis and comparison is illustrative of the mess we find ourselves in. And I wonder if we will ever find our way out.

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    Red Herring@EHerring·1y

    Diversity is the enemy of unity. It is a form of tribalism. Unlike the lefty lie that the military was racist until DEI, military basic training tore each recruit down and rebuilt him into a part of a united body. In that body, meritocracy ruled. People were judged based on performance, not skin color or genitalia. The PC world pushed women into, or allowed them to enter fields where standards had to be lowered for them to meet quotas. My career field had only recently been opened to women but standards stayed the same. A few women hang what it takes isn't the some as "women" have what it takes. Hegseth correctly pointed this out and was labeled a misogynist even though he wasn't. Having beaten that to death, the left moved on to race. When I worked under or briefed black generals, I knew they earned their rank. I knew a black senior NCO was just as qualified as a white NCO. When I placed my career and reputation on the line, I trusted my NCOs to deliver no matter their skin color. I’m glad I was retired before DEI. Had meritocracy gone away back then, some would have wondered if my command was a quota command or an earned one. I earned it. DEI would have cheapen it.

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    Susan Quinn@SusanQuinn·1y
    ReplyingtoRed Herring

    Red Herring (View Comment):

    Diversity is the enemy of unity. It is a form of tribalism. Unlike the lefty lie that the military was racist until DEI, military basic training tore each recruit down and rebuilt him into a part of a united body. In that body, meritocracy ruled. People were judged based on performance, not skin color or genitalia. The PC world pushed women into, or allowed them to enter fields where standards had to be lowered for them to meet quotas. My career field had only recently been opened to women but standards stayed the same. A few women hang what it takes isn’t the some as “women” have what it takes. Hegseth correctly pointed this out and was labeled a misogynist even though he wasn’t. Having beaten that to death, the left moved on to race. When I worked under or briefed black generals, I knew they earned their rank. I knew a black senior NCO was just as qualified as a white NCO. When I placed my career and reputation on the line, I trusted my NCOs to deliver no matter their skin color. I’m glad I was retired before DEI. Had meritocracy gone away back then, some would have wondered if my command was a quota command or an earned one. I earned it. DEI would have cheapen it.

    Sharing your perspective is so helpful, RH, given your experience in the military. I appreciate every time you share it.

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    Red Herring@EHerring·1y
    ReplyingtoSusan Quinn

    Red Herring (View Comment):

    Diversity is the enemy of unity. It is a form of tribalism. Unlike the lefty lie that the military was racist until DEI, military basic training tore each recruit down and rebuilt him into a part of a united body. In that body, meritocracy ruled. People were judged based on performance, not skin color or genitalia. The PC world pushed women into, or allowed them to enter fields where standards had to be lowered for them to meet quotas. My career field had only recently been opened to women but standards stayed the same. A few women hang what it takes isn’t the some as “women” have what it takes. Hegseth correctly pointed this out and was labeled a misogynist even though he wasn’t. Having beaten that to death, the left moved on to race. When I worked under or briefed black generals, I knew they earned their rank. I knew a black senior NCO was just as qualified as a white NCO. When I placed my career and reputation on the line, I trusted my NCOs to deliver no matter their skin color. I’m glad I was retired before DEI. Had meritocracy gone away back then, some would have wondered if my command was a quota command or an earned one. I earned it. DEI would have cheapen it.

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Sharing your perspective is so helpful, RH, given your experience in the military. I appreciate every time you share it.

    Enlisting after I got my MA was one of the best things I ever did. The other two were marrying Bob and having children. Hegseth will return the military to what I loved and respected.

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    kedavis@kedavis·1y

    When my brother and his wife visited the Buddy Holly museum in Lubbock, Texas a few years ago, they saw that the "rotating" exhibition in the adjacent facility was called "Black Girls Are Magic."

    That kind of thing leaves a mess that people like Kevin Samuels (RIP) tried to clean up.

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