Let’s stop calling it ‘DEI’ — These initiatives are about justice

(The writer is a Lansing resident.)

“Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” and “Woke.” These are terms that people often labeled as “conservative” or “ultra-conservative” or “alt-right” fear.

In fact, the president of the United States fears these terms because he and they feel this is the end of an era for them — an era where justice is but a rhetorical slogan as opposed to an actual implementation. But the problem with their interpretation is that DEI or “wokeness” benefits those who are non-white, non-male and non-Christian, or otherwise different from the traditional idea of who is “in charge.” DEI and “wokeness” are words invoked by people who have historically been denied, ignored and abused to define what an equitable society looks like for them. Diversity: We all have a different story (including the people trying to eliminate this recognition); Equity and Inclusion: As we all come from different vantage points, we should compensate so that everyone can tell their story and participate; “Woke” – we have been roused by the inequities that have plagued our society since its inception. Apparently the President and his cronies are still “asleep” (the antonym for “woke”).

How are we denied? We were not allowed to read, then not allowed to vote, then allowed to vote but with difficult caveats, and now we’re not allowed to even dictate why we feel this way because it makes weak-minded people like our current president uncomfortable. How are we ignored? When we want to speak up about our plight or get a voice at the table, we are hushed or put back in chains — if people are in prison, they can’t vote or advocate for themselves even after they’ve paid their “debt to society.”

How are we abused? When society questions the love of two people who legitimately love each other because it is different from what people are used to or call “normal.” When someone who feels like they are in the wrong body is effectively told that the world would be better without them than with them as their authentic self. When a boy is left bleeding after a horrendous police assault for over four hours and the police don’t even call the paramedics while his neighbors watch him bleed out in the street; when a man is shot and killed in front of his girlfriend and small child during a routine traffic stop, even though he has a license to carry a firearm and told the officers; when “law enforcement” kneel on a man’s neck while he writhes in pain and exclaims that he can’t breathe until he breathes his last — modern-day lynchings. When a child is separated from their parents indefinitely because their parents sought a better life in a better place, and are deemed by man, not God, as “illegal,” somehow this is okay — taking for granted that the land was stolen long before the laws were established.

These collective experiences demonstrate to society who belongs and who doesn’t. They are wrong and unjust. I propose if we can’t beat these terrified deplorables (yup, Hillary got it right!) then we make them refute the very laws they say they follow. Instead of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, let’s call it what it really is: justice. They can go as far as they want to deny DEI or “wokeness” because those words aren’t in our Constitution, but the word “justice” is written all over it. Those who sit on the US Supreme Court, which right now consists mostly of feckless puppets, are called “Justices.” One of the offices of the Executive branch of government (for now) is called the Department of Justice. And those who claim to adhere to Judeo-Christian beliefs must account for justice as a primary function, direction, and purpose of their God and their community. So let’s call it what it is: justice. Instead of DEI, let’s call it “J” and see what they have to say about it. Because if they’re willing to admit that they want to deny justice, then perhaps they’re willing to recognize that they don’t belong in charge of its implementation.