By Joe Schaller, Guest Columnist
Affirmative action for college admissions was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2023 and triggered widespread corporate retreat from Diversity, Equity & Inclusion program shakedowns as well as large funding cuts for federal/state levels and universities. Merit and character are once again being restored over skin color.
Since 2020 academia has invested heavily in DEI though and our tax dollars continue to support Neo-Marxist identity discrimination aimed at producing equitable outcomes (redistribution of wealth) rather than embracing our traditional equality of opportunity sought by our Founding Fathers and Martin Luther King, a principle my boomer generation was raised on in the 1960s.
With that being said, here are my takeaways from the University of New Mexico-Gallup’s
statewide Diversity Summit, which took place April 17-18:
Upon registration as a representative of Lyceum Moshpit podcast, I was surprised to discover that UNM-Gallup has an entire department devoted to DEI. Their director’s resume in the Gallup Journey’s UNM ad mentions “diversity” 22 times with no definition provided for context.
Since then, diversity, equity and inclusion have been key elements of Neo-Marxism’s Orwellian evolution of language to reframe it in alignment with social justice goals.
The modern social justice “equity culture” of wealth transfer didn’t emerge as a distinct alternative to “equality” (treating everyone the same) until 2020. By 2023, social scientists were characterizing DEI as a religion – all faith, no science – a religion which places religious identity very low on the DEI totem pole of intersectionality.
“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” – George Orwell
My mission as a watchdog journalist is to seek out power abusers and expose control freak bullies. Aside from myself at the summit, it was a politically and ideologically homogenous congregation of over a hundred, many of them teachers, and leaning heavily toward a Marxist persuasion. Surface-level diversity of skin color and ethnicity prevailed, yet deep-level diversity not so much.
Almost all of the 20 breakout sessions over two days were heavy on identity politics. Despite radically controversial topics such as anti-ICE protection of criminal aliens, culturally responsive instruction, and “academic freedom” (manipulation of content), everyone was on board and quite comfortable with the program. Virtually nobody except me had challenging questions for the speakers. Diversity? I think not. In fact, I may have been the sole representative crashing a mutual admiration society.
The Gallup-McKinley County Schools board was present with a “Strengthening Culturally Responsive Education” session.
I raised my hand and noted that New Mexico public schools frequently rank last or near-last nationally in reading, writing, and STEM (math/science) proficiency based on NAEP and SAT data. GMCS consistently ranks among the lowest-performing districts in New Mexico with 18% and 31% proficiency rates in math and reading, placing them below state averages and among the lowest in statewide district rankings.
Despite that, the board makes excuses and insists on continuing cultural identity curricula which has proven to be a major part of public schools’ nationwide decline since their injection by teachers’ unions in the 1970s. Can someone on the board have the courage to stand up to the woke bully establishment please? Poisonous and divisive identity politics has no place in our public schools.
Cultural identity should be nurtured by family and the non-government community. Multiculturalism creates segregation. Assimilation creates integration – politically incorrect and unwoke yet true. I can remember back when integration was the dream; certainly not in the past 17 years.
I grew weary of all the hifalutin DEI intellectualization at the summit. What should have been easy to understand concepts utilized Orwellian (authoritarian-dystopian) murky language of doublespeak, euphemisms, buzzwords, and jargon. It’s a deliberate manipulation of language and a propaganda tool to obscure truth, limit thought, and reinforce political power. Epistemic trust and vigilance? Equity-centered thinking with culturally responsive instruction? Intellectual sovereignty? Indigenous relationality? Binary systems (social constructs)? Environmental injustice? Historical literacy and affirmation? Yikes!
Modern “diversity” and DEI are not complicated. It’s simply an excuse to discriminate. They are racist, sexist, authoritarian, and funded by state taxpayers.
As a man of science, I encourage you to search Robert Putnam’s diversity research study. There can be downsides to deep-level diversity (how people interact, think, and approach tasks), so be careful what you wish for. There is a reason why birds of a feather flock together.
