“Anti-anti” and DEI

As long as I’ve been alive, right-wingers have reducing words to mush.

When I first arrived in the US, it was communism. Whatever they didn’t like was “communism” or “socialism.” They still say that. “Political correctness,” which started as a left-wing term, became a generic accusation meaning anything vaguely to the left of the 1950s, with the added implication conservatives pushing generic ideas were now edgy truth tellers (they weren’t edgy and they’re never truthful). Ditto cancel culture, wokeness, “social justice warriors,” virtue signaling and so on. Much like Undead Sexist Cliches, the name changes but the screams of outrage don’t.

Right-wing propagandist Chris Rufo is a textbook example. He’s openly stated that he points at anything he doesn’t like and screams “critical race theory” in the hopes of making both CRT and whatever he’s pointing at toxic. Likewise we have the endless rants about DEI, which Rufo also opposes.

All the different phrases mean pretty much the same thing. People who claim to be anti-DEI or anti-affirmative action are pro-racism or pro-sexism or pro-homophobia, depending on the subject under discussion. As Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott put it, calling him a DEI mayor is just a way of calling him the n-word while pretending you’re not doing exactly that (another example)

As I said back in 2017, it’s unlikely anyone who makes these arguments would object if they were thrown back to the days when affirmative action benefited whites: a mediocre white man could get into most of the Ivy League ahead of a more qualified woman or POC. Employers could hand out jobs to white men over women or minorities and many of them did. Lots of people wouldn’t even think of the possibility the white dudes weren’t the most qualified. Others wouldn’t care; I’m quite sure Rufo and many other Republicans don’t. Hell, Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto thinks it’s bad that businesses can’t refuse to hire women.

If Trump wins making American safe for white men will be directive number two, after ensuring Trump can stay president for life.