Three more ways to stop a conversation about diversity
November 17th, 2009 at 10:45am Wally Haas
See the previous post for some excellent responses to yesterday’s “21 ways to stop a conversation about diversity.”
The list is according to Lee Mun Wah of Stirfry Seminars & Consulting. If you want to know more about Stirfry HERE’s a link.
Here are the next three sentences in the list of 21.
4. Racism/sexism happens all over the world.
5. I think some people use diversity as an excuse.
6. I think identifying into groups only further divides us.
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1 Comment Add your own
1. Ms Cake | November 17th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
4 - So it happens all over the world - does that make it right? Genocide also happens all over the world, along with other heinous crimes. Just because the infection is widespread, doesn’t make the disease less horrible.
5 - This is ignorance at its best. Diversity isn’t an excuse for anything - diversity is an observation of the difference of things. This is, like the first three from yesterday, another flat-out dismissal. So is #4. I think what it boils down to is all of these statements dismiss the point and therefore stop the conversation.
6 - While this is again a dismissal, it also has another implication that needs to be addressed. Identifying into groups provides each of us with personal context. We have to look at where we come from in order to see where we can go in the future. I would like to ask the person who made that statement “If you feel that way, are you willing to completely abandon any identifier that makes you you? Gender, ethnicity, interests, creed, etc. All are groups that provide divisions.” Some people are just uncomfortable looking at the racial ones - and why is that? If you were truly a person who didn’t care about race, why would it bother you to talk about it?
Usually someone who is so dismissive has their own personal problems about race that they’re terrified might come to light in a real discussion about race, so they are quick to dismiss it.
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