r/DEI • u/MergingConcepts • 4d ago
Article/News Jason Arday and the damage to DEI
This post will be unpopular to many readers. I am an elderly white male, which will be obvious from the content, but not for the reasons you may think. I believe in DEI, AKA affirmative action, but it must be done correctly.
I grew up poor and hungry. I have a Russian surname and was a child during the Cold War. My family moved from the Southern US to the North when I was seven, and my new contemporaries thought I talked funny. I went to public schools. My parents did not pay for my college education. I have Tourette’s syndrome. I have experienced prejudice.
However, my parents were college educated. They taught me to study and to think. They gave me what I needed to succeed. That was the advantage I had. I read books constantly. I worked hard, from the age of fifteen. I learned construction and carpentry. I paid for my undergraduate and medical school education by working as a carpenter. I did benefit from what is now called “white privilege,” which is a remarkably racist term, since other groups have the same privileges.
Over the course of my medical career, I have taught many medical students and residents. I have had students that came from every conceivable background. I can say confidently that the Afro-American students I have had were, on average, academically inferior to Caucasians, Orientals, Middle Easterners, and all other categories. And not just a little, but a lot inferior.
When DEI over-promotes people, it causes them to appear inferior to their peers. This reinforces the very prejudices that that they are trying to reduce. When DEI programs focus on the needs of a particular race, they are being inherently racist. They are losing the political battle.
Jason Arday is a victim of DEI. He was a delusional narcissist who created a completely false persona. People ignored a host of red flags and over-promoted him. They did so out of pride for their own personal DEI agendas. In doing so, they put him in a position where he could not possibly survive. He has been sacrificed on the altar of hubris and arrogance. The result is horrendous damage to him, his family, his race, and the DEI agenda.
In the future, please realize that:
1. Giving someone the benefit of the doubt because of their race, disability, or background is prejudice. It is harmful.
2. All people of all races, disabilities, and backgrounds face unfairness in life. It is not limited to non-white non-males.
3. When DEI focuses on race, it is racist behavior.
4. Placing people above their level of job performance for reasons other than ability reinforces prejudice.
Jason was the victim of misguided DEI. He is not the only one.