I had a goiter removal surgery a few years ago. My surgeon was a middle-aged black woman. When I met her the first time I knew I was getting the best. To manage to get her MD she had to be much better than her peers. She removed the goiter in one piece through a small incision on my neck. No scar is visible. She is the BEST. I’m a 77 year old white guy.
I am so fortunate to work in an elementary school where diversity is one of the values highlighted by the administration. The beauty of that term is on full display in the population of children that attend; African American, Indian, latino, and everything in between. I cannot imagine living in a world where this diversity is discouraged or disparaged. It’s unbelievable that now all these beautiful children, adults-in-training, could be viewed as “DEI” hires. I cannot wrap my mind around that…at all. Trump would do well to cool it with the bronzer, lest he be misidentified? What’s next, genetic testing for job applicants? What? What? What?????
Ellen, your post reminded me of an incident that occurred in my elementary school on the west side of Chicago. My parents were second generation Americans, but at the time we lived with other relatives who had come to this country from Europe, Russia, Romania, and the Ukraine. My first language was Yiddish and I did not learn English until I entered kindergarten. One morning during a recess break, I was playing out in the schoolyard when a bunch of older white kids started bullying me. I was the smallest kid in the class and was very frightened. All of a sudden, a tall black girl came up behind me, shook her fist. at the bullies and said in a very quiet, menacing voice, “you leave her alone, I’m her guardian and you better not dare mess with me!“ Despite all the haters and racist monsters out there, we must remember that below our skins, our brains and our blood are all the same color and God, however, we imagine Him/Her/It to look like, is not just one color, but ALL colors.
As a female Beige American, distant descendent of slaves, I truly appreciate the diversity that has opened opportunities. When discrimination happens, regardless of whether it's racial, gender, or whatever, we short-change our entire society by disregarding the capabilities of all our people.
Oh, and in listing "disabilities" that rump failed to recognize in his screed about DEI, he failed to mention heel spurs.
I'm another who chooses to name myself as a beige female. I wish I had known or thought of this many years ago. He can only ban 'official' celebrations. I'll celebrate whatever I damned well please on my own and in my own home.
We lived in Silver Spring, Maryland for 18 years and cherished the diversity. Our children were adopted and of mixed race. They went to schools with kids of all backgrounds and grew up learning about the history of many peoples. We moved to a small college town in Massachusetts and would walk into a restaurant and say to each other “why is everyone white?” After 18 years we moved to Rockville, Md for the diversity and to be near friends. I love that every time I walk into a new place of business I find people of all races and cultures. It makes life so much more interesting!
Oh, yes! I grew up in the fifties/sixties San Fernando Valley of Southern California. An area rich with cultural diversity. One of the few Jewish families in our area. Sure, there were biases and bigotry, but in my mind, there was an opportunity to learn from every experience. What I learned most often was that we had more in common than not. Without that diversity, life in the Valley would’ve been so much more boring. I still believe that.
On January 21st, The Felon fired the director of the federal Transportation Security Administration, froze hiring of new air traffic controllers. (Even though there is a profound shortage of controllers, which resulted in understaffed air traffic facilities and overworked controllers —
Also disbanded the federal Aviation Security Advisory Committee, which was created by Congress in 1988 after the bombing of PanAm Flight over Lockerbie, Scotland.
And never bothered to appoint an acting director of the FAA until yesterday — after the tragedy that claimed 67 lives.
Ah, Cristoforo Colombo was born in Genoa, Italy. The "white" people of American called his Italian heritage group hideous names among them: "Wop, Dago, Guinea, Goombah, and Greaseball." I guess the mob made them Whiter?
Some theories suggest he might have had Jewish ancestry, arguing that his family may have been conversos (Jews who converted to Christianity under pressure). Many of these slurs were weaponized against Southern Italians and Sicilians in particular, who faced significant discrimination when immigrating to the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Italians were often racialized, denied jobs, and even targeted by violence.
I was raised in a very insular family in a very diverse city. When I graduated from high school and went to work on my own I was amazed at what I could learn from all of the many colors and cultures I was exposed to. Discovered great foods I had never had, religious customs I had only heard about. I’ve enjoyed meeting so many wonderful people. I can’t imagine going backward now, 60 years of working, playing and loving so many wonderful people. 77 yo now.
Wait until Trump finds out all the victims of the Philadelphia plane crash were Mexican nationals who had flown here to get life saving treatment for a young girl and were on their way home. Compassion is not natural to white supremacy advocates. I guess there goes diversity in emergency healthcare if his past actions are any indication.
Diversity has made my life much richer and helped me understand how much racism has crippled the country. The people throwing racist and homophobic taunts around are in the most need of diversity in their lives.
Thirty five years of teaching public high school started during the era of multicultural education and concluded last spring with the most diverse faculty and students I have ever worked with. My experience of teaching was enriched every day by my students’ experiences and insights
Being Canadian, my country has always welcomed immigrants from every part of the world and diversity is a way of life here. When my 2 eldest grandchildren were in K-12, they were registered in schools where the colour of your skin or the slant of your eyes and what you ate for lunch was unimportant in their lives. I recall my first visit to their schools for grandparents day and how happy I felt when seeing the joyful intermingling of the students. It didn’t matter to them that they all looked different and that’s when I realized that Canada had made a wise choice in acknowledging that its growth could only come from an open immigration policy. It is now estimated that by 2041, the Canadian population will reach 47.7 million, and that 25 million of them will be immigrants or children of immigrants born in Canada. Tell that to Trump and watch him change his view on our becoming your 51st state.
I basically grew up and went graduated graduate school and competed with men in the job market prior to any thoughts of DEI policies. I remember I was one of 4 women doing my job in the beginning in the entire state. I really didn't think much about it. Presently, we live in a unique university town. It has a beautiful lake and known to be the most diverse town in the state. There are hundreds of languages spoken here. A Pulizer Prize book and a movie has been made about our town. The community feels diversity is what makes our town special. Most families come and grow old here.
I had a goiter removal surgery a few years ago. My surgeon was a middle-aged black woman. When I met her the first time I knew I was getting the best. To manage to get her MD she had to be much better than her peers. She removed the goiter in one piece through a small incision on my neck. No scar is visible. She is the BEST. I’m a 77 year old white guy.
Dr.Haidt:"...tribalism diminishes rationality"...?
I am so fortunate to work in an elementary school where diversity is one of the values highlighted by the administration. The beauty of that term is on full display in the population of children that attend; African American, Indian, latino, and everything in between. I cannot imagine living in a world where this diversity is discouraged or disparaged. It’s unbelievable that now all these beautiful children, adults-in-training, could be viewed as “DEI” hires. I cannot wrap my mind around that…at all. Trump would do well to cool it with the bronzer, lest he be misidentified? What’s next, genetic testing for job applicants? What? What? What?????
Ellen, your post reminded me of an incident that occurred in my elementary school on the west side of Chicago. My parents were second generation Americans, but at the time we lived with other relatives who had come to this country from Europe, Russia, Romania, and the Ukraine. My first language was Yiddish and I did not learn English until I entered kindergarten. One morning during a recess break, I was playing out in the schoolyard when a bunch of older white kids started bullying me. I was the smallest kid in the class and was very frightened. All of a sudden, a tall black girl came up behind me, shook her fist. at the bullies and said in a very quiet, menacing voice, “you leave her alone, I’m her guardian and you better not dare mess with me!“ Despite all the haters and racist monsters out there, we must remember that below our skins, our brains and our blood are all the same color and God, however, we imagine Him/Her/It to look like, is not just one color, but ALL colors.
As a female Beige American, distant descendent of slaves, I truly appreciate the diversity that has opened opportunities. When discrimination happens, regardless of whether it's racial, gender, or whatever, we short-change our entire society by disregarding the capabilities of all our people.
Oh, and in listing "disabilities" that rump failed to recognize in his screed about DEI, he failed to mention heel spurs.
I haven’t heard the “beige American” description before. I like the descriptiveness of it.
Does banning DEI and all history celebrations of black, women, Latino/Latinas etc. … does this make everybody white? Or just the “important” ones?
If so, I want out.
I'm another who chooses to name myself as a beige female. I wish I had known or thought of this many years ago. He can only ban 'official' celebrations. I'll celebrate whatever I damned well please on my own and in my own home.
Or a block party!
Only White People Allowed. That is what it makes our country.
Yup, Whites Only, just like it was … forever.
Like I always said, “Let them have shiny shoe buckles and they’ll take over the world!”
Those pesky Puritans. They are the ones to blame.
Diversity has enriched my life in every way. It is our greatest strength. Sadly, my partner was fired from their civil service career for promoting DEI across our government: https://democracydefender2025.substack.com/p/dei-public-servant-fired
are they protesting the firing in any way?
43 years ago we chose to move to & raise our kids in Montgomery County MD
We wanted a BLUE state & county that encouraged & celebrated diversity & inclusion & had excellent schools
It was the best decision we every made & we are still here
We, our kids & now grandkids have friends who span the LGBTQ rainbow
I ran full inclusion preschool programs for years
We are so much the richer for all of it!
We lived in Silver Spring, Maryland for 18 years and cherished the diversity. Our children were adopted and of mixed race. They went to schools with kids of all backgrounds and grew up learning about the history of many peoples. We moved to a small college town in Massachusetts and would walk into a restaurant and say to each other “why is everyone white?” After 18 years we moved to Rockville, Md for the diversity and to be near friends. I love that every time I walk into a new place of business I find people of all races and cultures. It makes life so much more interesting!
Oh, yes! I grew up in the fifties/sixties San Fernando Valley of Southern California. An area rich with cultural diversity. One of the few Jewish families in our area. Sure, there were biases and bigotry, but in my mind, there was an opportunity to learn from every experience. What I learned most often was that we had more in common than not. Without that diversity, life in the Valley would’ve been so much more boring. I still believe that.
On January 21st, The Felon fired the director of the federal Transportation Security Administration, froze hiring of new air traffic controllers. (Even though there is a profound shortage of controllers, which resulted in understaffed air traffic facilities and overworked controllers —
Also disbanded the federal Aviation Security Advisory Committee, which was created by Congress in 1988 after the bombing of PanAm Flight over Lockerbie, Scotland.
And never bothered to appoint an acting director of the FAA until yesterday — after the tragedy that claimed 67 lives.
Of course we'll still be commemorating Columbus Day.
Ah, Cristoforo Colombo was born in Genoa, Italy. The "white" people of American called his Italian heritage group hideous names among them: "Wop, Dago, Guinea, Goombah, and Greaseball." I guess the mob made them Whiter?
Some theories suggest he might have had Jewish ancestry, arguing that his family may have been conversos (Jews who converted to Christianity under pressure). Many of these slurs were weaponized against Southern Italians and Sicilians in particular, who faced significant discrimination when immigrating to the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Italians were often racialized, denied jobs, and even targeted by violence.
because of the poor treatment they received on the east coast, many of them came to CA where they then flourished
True!
Of course, that goes without saying. We can observe days for important men who are seen as white. What a bunch of crap!💩
It is.
I was raised in a very insular family in a very diverse city. When I graduated from high school and went to work on my own I was amazed at what I could learn from all of the many colors and cultures I was exposed to. Discovered great foods I had never had, religious customs I had only heard about. I’ve enjoyed meeting so many wonderful people. I can’t imagine going backward now, 60 years of working, playing and loving so many wonderful people. 77 yo now.
🤗🥰🖖❤️
Wait until Trump finds out all the victims of the Philadelphia plane crash were Mexican nationals who had flown here to get life saving treatment for a young girl and were on their way home. Compassion is not natural to white supremacy advocates. I guess there goes diversity in emergency healthcare if his past actions are any indication.
Diversity has made my life much richer and helped me understand how much racism has crippled the country. The people throwing racist and homophobic taunts around are in the most need of diversity in their lives.
Thirty five years of teaching public high school started during the era of multicultural education and concluded last spring with the most diverse faculty and students I have ever worked with. My experience of teaching was enriched every day by my students’ experiences and insights
Being Canadian, my country has always welcomed immigrants from every part of the world and diversity is a way of life here. When my 2 eldest grandchildren were in K-12, they were registered in schools where the colour of your skin or the slant of your eyes and what you ate for lunch was unimportant in their lives. I recall my first visit to their schools for grandparents day and how happy I felt when seeing the joyful intermingling of the students. It didn’t matter to them that they all looked different and that’s when I realized that Canada had made a wise choice in acknowledging that its growth could only come from an open immigration policy. It is now estimated that by 2041, the Canadian population will reach 47.7 million, and that 25 million of them will be immigrants or children of immigrants born in Canada. Tell that to Trump and watch him change his view on our becoming your 51st state.
Trump wants to replace DEI with merit based hiring. This could be how we get rid of this Pres. and his cabinet!
Hmm, yes, except cronyism seems to work better for him.
Oh, how much I hope so!
I basically grew up and went graduated graduate school and competed with men in the job market prior to any thoughts of DEI policies. I remember I was one of 4 women doing my job in the beginning in the entire state. I really didn't think much about it. Presently, we live in a unique university town. It has a beautiful lake and known to be the most diverse town in the state. There are hundreds of languages spoken here. A Pulizer Prize book and a movie has been made about our town. The community feels diversity is what makes our town special. Most families come and grow old here.