Nearly five years ago, one of the first Bubbler posts I wrote was called “Celebrate similarity.” Back then, it was simply affirming Prince questioning what we hoped to gain by celebrating what divides us instead of celebrating what unites us. Because we don’t really teach US history anymore, fewer and fewer people understand this. But the United States was founded on a set of principles that attracted a diverse set of people from all around the globe – all of whom were united by one core idea: Freedom. They came to build a better life. Hard to say whether…
Unity. Diversity. Which is it?
Democrats from Joe Biden on down are all talking about unity. We need to unify the country. We need to come together. We need to heal after the terrible four years we experienced because they made it so unbearable with their four-year nonstop tantrum. But didn’t these same Democrats spend the prior 25 years telling us to “celebrate diversity?” Yard signs. LinkedIn posts. Campaign slogans. Bumper stickers. Billboards. In the workplace. In public schools. Everywhere we turned, we were told to celebrate diversity. Hell, living in Seattle, I was excited to celebrate diversity. Many of the companies here were…
Can we be done celebrating diversity?
There’s no shortage of national lament about how divided our country has become. People are struggling to find common ground and instead are trying to figure out where we go from here. Shouldn’t we be celebrating these differences? What do people expect after years of being told that we have all these differences to be celebrated? What do you think people will conclude when we tell them that because our skin color is different, we have nothing in common, and we should celebrate that? Are we really surprised that we’re so focused on our differences after being bludgeoned with…
Celebrate diversity
Well? This is it. This is what the celebration of diversity looks like. This is what happens when we all go out and show off everything we don’t agree on. This is what it looks like when we focus on everything that divides us. This is what happens when you tell people that what makes us different is our skin color, which, ironically, is an inherently racist premise. You can’t have a functioning set of friends, school classroom, workplace, community, city, state, or country if no one has any idea what unites them. You can’t look past your differences…
Diversity, but from who’s perspective?
One of the popular trends in management these days is giving the entire staff a personality test so we can understand what kind of people they are. Then managers are to learn how to speak to each individual in a way that resonates best with their varying personality types. One manager learning countless different ways to say the same thing to X number of employees. At the same time, companies are racing to see who can create the largest “diversity and inclusion” department in the their industry, so they can publicize their “commitment to diversity” and attract the employees…
1+1=74
I was skipping through the news and saw a clip of Joe Biden on BBC America telling a rally that we must not let the Republican Party divide us. I couldn’t help but think: “Which party continually talks only in terms of blacks, transgenders, women, gays, Hispanics, white males, etc?” Democrat politicians and activists consistently “celebrate diversity” and frame every political topic according to what slice of America is getting hurt by it and who’s benefitting. You will seldom hear a Democrat refer to all Americans. Sometimes I’m stunned by the brazen projection that goes on.
Celebrate similarity
In 2002, during a performance of “Anna Stesia”, Prince said, “‘We should champion our diversity…’ Ha!” “We should champion our similarities. We should meet on a higher level. Instead of looking at white, black… rich, poor… young, old… Differences. Differences. ‘Diversity.’ Let’s meet somewhere higher.” You can’t get through a week without seeing a “celebrate diversity” sign or hearing someone talking about the importance of diversity. It’s never made any sense to me. Why aren’t we celebrating the things we have in common? The things that unite us? People keep trying to break us down into groups: white, black,…