DEI by Any Other Name Would Smell as Rotten

Every once in a while, I step back and evaluate my writing. I'd call myself a fair writer. I will probably never be up for any book deals or Puitzers, but I would like to think that I get the job done. During one of these recent critiques, I noticed that I tend to lean a little too heavily on the George Orwell references. But I immediately forgave myself. 

The reason that I and so many other writers reference Orwell is because the Left keeps imitating the scenarios of "1984" and "Animal Farm." Okay, you could throw "Brave New World" in there, but Orwell offers a more target-rich environment than Huxley. But my point stands. We wouldn't reference Orwell so damn much if the Left wasn't channeling him every five minutes. 

Take language for example. I'm not talking about those ten-car word pileups that pass for Karine Jean-Pierre's press briefings. I'm not even talking about the ramblings of Joe Biden, which sound as if they could have been slurred by a drunken patron of the Mos Eisley Cantina being hoisted off the floor at closing time. I'm talking about the semi-skilled manipulation of language. 

I say "semi-skilled" because on most occasions, when the left tries to play fast and loose with words or phrases, it is fairly transparent and done with a wink and a nod. We know they are BS'ing us, and they know it. But we also know that until 50% of the U.S. population keeps its hands at 10:00 and 2:00 and removes its heads from the 6:30 position, there is little if anything we can do about it. 

For example: at midnight on Jan. 1, Texas Senate Bill 17 goes into effect. SB 17 prohibits "institutions of higher learning" from creating diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or hiring someone to perform and advance DEI programs and propaganda. Sounds good. 

This bill should, in theory, force Texas colleges and universities to actually teach college classes as opposed to encouraging students to gather together to gripe, groan, complain whine, and protest. And to trade pronouns and decide who is the most intersectional and is therefore entitled to be at the head of the mob when it comes time to throw a brick through a window to defeat the patriarchy, have abortions, take hormones, free Palestine, or whatever the underworked, overindulged narcissistic monsters have been told to be furious about.

It is important to remember that while Leftists may seem unhinged, their leaders are quite brilliant. Evil, but brilliant. The University of Texas at San Antonio saw the writing on the wall and decided to take pre-emptive action. It has closed its Office of Inclusive Excellence. So, that should solve the problem, right? Sucker. 

The College Fix reports that going forward, UT San Antonio will feature the Office of Campus and Community Belonging with the same staff and everything. To ease any fears that students may have had about their Office of Security Blankets, Kittens, Encouragement, and Warped Activism being disbanded, President Taylor Eighmy sent out a campus-wide email that read in part:

As you know, Senate Bill 17 goes into effect on January 1, 2024, and charges college and university governing boards with ensuring that diversity, equity, and inclusion offices are not maintained or upheld...Importantly, the individuals who previously served in the Office of Inclusive Excellence will now have new roles with updated responsibilities to support the Office of Campus and Community Belonging’s purpose, goals, and services. (sic)

The College Fix said that UT-Austin merely renamed its office of “Outreach & Inclusion” to “Outreach & Scholarships.” 

The Texas Public Policy Foundation's Thomas Lindsay said that he would be "shocked and dismayed" if colleges tried to find a way around the DEI ban. Well, Mr. Lindsay, be prepared to be shocked and dismayed. You may be the only one. 

A professor at UT-Austin said the school has no intention of complying with the law. He told the College Fix, “They will use whatever loopholes they can find to continue as much of the objectionable programming as possible, especially by hiding such programs as ‘teaching’ and ‘research,’ which were carved out as exceptions.” A student at UT-San Antonio predicted that conservative students will continue to get the shaft. So in other words, SPDD: Same Progs, Different Day.