The Rise of the Acronym

When Abbreviations Become Weapons

DEI is no longer an acronym. It is a noun ("That program is DEI"), an adjective ("She's a DEI hire), and I expect it will soon be a verb: ("He DEI'd his way into a job.”) But it is not a word; it is three words: "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion." Which of these is offensive: "diversity," "equity," or "inclusion"? Doesn't everyone want the spouse their kid married to be accepted by their social club? Doesn't everyone want to be treated like the boss's son is? Doesn't everyone want to be considered an American, not a hyphenated-American? There you have it: diversity, equity, and inclusion.

"Diversity, Equality and Inclusion" is really about fairness. When the President complains he has been unfairly treated by the news media, what is he asking for? "Equity," the right to be treated by the same standards as others.

When a controversial right wing speaker gets barred from a college campus, why do we think the college is violating free speech? Isn't it for the sake of diversity and equity that the college should permit that person to address its students? You can call it "cancel culture," if you want, but that is just another way to say "unfair," which is another way to say "inequitable," which means you want equity.

Don't we expect fair treatment for billionaires, as well as the poor? Is it fair to say "tax cuts for billionaires," when some billionaires respect the tax laws and give generously to civil rights groups or medical research? Billionaires deserve fairness, which means they they are entitled to equity. People should not be judged on their wealth or lack of it.

Shouldn't we ask how the rich earned their wealth or how the poor fell into poverty before we attack them as classes of people? Is it fair to say "handouts for welfare queens," when we know that most who benefit from Medicaid or SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) are truly poor? Everyone should get an entitled government benefit, whether tax deductions for buying from local farmers or supplemental aid for needed groceries.

There are some who game the system, whether through tax loopholes or obtaining benefits from deceased beneficiaries. That's not fair. Many others are blamed for cheating, when the majority are complying with the law. That means the honest should be included, the cheaters excluded. Good example of inclusion and equity.

The so-called "chainsaw" approach to cutting waste and fraud gives no attention to indiscriminate use of funds that deserve cutting, but demolishes programs by their unfortunate mention of one of the suspicious three words. If investigations take place they should identify a real problem with how the money was expended, not just yell "DEI!" and expect taxpayers to get riled. "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" are not toxic words that should be identified by a word search program.

Politicians or DEI investigators avoid using the actual words "diversity, equality, or inclusion” because someone might notice that a worthy program is being cut. They say, "The program's DEI is under investigation, " and everyone thinks "favoritism" instead of "fairness." It is so much easier to word search government grants, loans, and hiring policies and slash them just for using forbidden acronyms or the words they represent.

In some cases, photos seemed to be flagged for removal simply because their file included the word “gay,” including service members with that last name and an image of the B-29 aircraft Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/war-heroes-gay-plane-images-flagged-removal-pentagons-dei-purge-rcna195344

Even the President's favorite decade could be under investigation, since it has been called "the gay nineties."

There should be a law forbidding the acronym "DEI" as a noun, adjective or verb. It disparages something we all want: "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion." "Equity" demands that the people we don't favor should get the same treatment as our friends. Isn't that what "fairness" means? We all expect fairness. Call DEI what it is. By now you know what those letters mean.

Aren't there more than a few people that are tired of hearing "WASP" like it was something dirty? That's the destructive power of acronyms.