Why are people saying this is brave? Caplan simply went with the tide in 2020, and he's going with the tide now. The anti woke momentum and voice is dramatically larger than the woke one now.
This type of thinking from GMU and other universities is only possible because the terms Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion all have two different meanings.
One meaning (the “Be Nice” part) is used in public debates, media, public relations for organizations, and damage control after public scandals
The hidden meaning is implemented by bureaucracy behind closed doors.
I worked in GMU's graduate admissions departments from 2010 to 2019, and the last two or three years of that time, we went from professional development day with fun and helpful workshops on "dealing with difficult customers" and Toastmasters, to mandatory DEI exercises where you voted conservatives to be eaten by zombies (this is not an exaggeration, this is an actual exercise they made us do). It was disgusting and disheartening.
When considering the benefits of this proposal, one must not forget that both committee and subcommittee meetings will often include a crudite platter and the yearly kickoff will include a mid-priced chardonnay and some cubed cheese. These are the conditions under which great minds will eradicate the scourge of racism on GMU campus.
> Since the authoritarian tide has temporarily receded, I’m now going to do what I should have done back in 2020: critique the statement line-by-line.
Wokeness hasn't just receded; it has as near as vanished into the ether as makes no difference. You are kicking at a dead horse and it's cringe.
The primary threat to the open society now comes from the Rightoid International - populists, MAGA, tradcaths, groypers, etc. and their global affiliates. It would be more productive to address that threat.
I thought GMU with its Mercatus Center was a hotbed of libertarianism.
Your account reminds me of the sexual harassment policy adopted at the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 1998. Although the policy applied to both sexes, for practical purposes it was directed against men. The policy had a particularly troubling feature: Whether an act counted as sexual harassment or not depended not on the nature of the act itself but upon how the woman in question reacted to it. The act counted as sexual harassment if and only if the woman didn't welcome it. Unless a man could read a woman's mind, he couldn't predict whether a given act would be sexual harassment or not. So he couldn't predict whether the act would be a punishable offense or not.
There are liberal which show great disdain for woke. That indicates to me this woke thing is a fad. Hopefully, it will disappear. Don't expect contrition. Be happy it just quietly goes away.
While I tend to lean 'liberal" (whatever that means nowadays) I agree with every word Bryan wrote.
I remember attending 3 (just three - that was my limit of "toleration"!) "Leftist" groups in the early 1970s in NY City. My God, such long winded, bizarre extremist, materialist notions.
I was already a fan of EF Schumacher's anarchic anti-statist socialism based in Christian mystic perspectives so found the heavily intellectualized materialistic obsession with out-groups that these obviously upper middle class Leftists would never associate with to be deeply hypocritical.
I never imagined this academically-based extremist unbalanced thought would reach wide swaths of the public. Perhaps one unexpected gift of Trump's grift has been to expose the absurdity of this extreme woke stuff and bring us - all of us - back to simple, everyday caring for each other without trying to impose some legalistic nonsense on the world.
Why are people saying this is brave? Caplan simply went with the tide in 2020, and he's going with the tide now. The anti woke momentum and voice is dramatically larger than the woke one now.
This type of thinking from GMU and other universities is only possible because the terms Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion all have two different meanings.
One meaning (the “Be Nice” part) is used in public debates, media, public relations for organizations, and damage control after public scandals
The hidden meaning is implemented by bureaucracy behind closed doors.
I go into more detail here:
https://frompovertytoprogress.substack.com/p/understanding-diversity-equity-and
Hi Bryan - great article.
Wha has changed to make you feel safe publishing this? I could use some good news
I worked in GMU's graduate admissions departments from 2010 to 2019, and the last two or three years of that time, we went from professional development day with fun and helpful workshops on "dealing with difficult customers" and Toastmasters, to mandatory DEI exercises where you voted conservatives to be eaten by zombies (this is not an exaggeration, this is an actual exercise they made us do). It was disgusting and disheartening.
Excellent, courageous post, Bryan.
We must overcome the intimidation.
That starts by overcoming our denial about our being intimidated.
> George Mason was already persecuting a close friend
Who?
Oh yea. Forgot.
Do change your will from GMU to Mercatus.
When considering the benefits of this proposal, one must not forget that both committee and subcommittee meetings will often include a crudite platter and the yearly kickoff will include a mid-priced chardonnay and some cubed cheese. These are the conditions under which great minds will eradicate the scourge of racism on GMU campus.
> Since the authoritarian tide has temporarily receded, I’m now going to do what I should have done back in 2020: critique the statement line-by-line.
Wokeness hasn't just receded; it has as near as vanished into the ether as makes no difference. You are kicking at a dead horse and it's cringe.
The primary threat to the open society now comes from the Rightoid International - populists, MAGA, tradcaths, groypers, etc. and their global affiliates. It would be more productive to address that threat.
I thought GMU with its Mercatus Center was a hotbed of libertarianism.
Your account reminds me of the sexual harassment policy adopted at the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 1998. Although the policy applied to both sexes, for practical purposes it was directed against men. The policy had a particularly troubling feature: Whether an act counted as sexual harassment or not depended not on the nature of the act itself but upon how the woman in question reacted to it. The act counted as sexual harassment if and only if the woman didn't welcome it. Unless a man could read a woman's mind, he couldn't predict whether a given act would be sexual harassment or not. So he couldn't predict whether the act would be a punishable offense or not.
"I was a little too scared to publicly oppose..."
You know things are bad when even Bryan Caplan is afraid to talk.
Bet on it? My bet is that GMU is drowning in 'racism'.....White on White Racism.
There are liberal which show great disdain for woke. That indicates to me this woke thing is a fad. Hopefully, it will disappear. Don't expect contrition. Be happy it just quietly goes away.
Unfortunately the only ones who will be persuaded by this excellent analysis are certain not to be part of the GMU administration.
Great post Bryan!
While I tend to lean 'liberal" (whatever that means nowadays) I agree with every word Bryan wrote.
I remember attending 3 (just three - that was my limit of "toleration"!) "Leftist" groups in the early 1970s in NY City. My God, such long winded, bizarre extremist, materialist notions.
I was already a fan of EF Schumacher's anarchic anti-statist socialism based in Christian mystic perspectives so found the heavily intellectualized materialistic obsession with out-groups that these obviously upper middle class Leftists would never associate with to be deeply hypocritical.
I never imagined this academically-based extremist unbalanced thought would reach wide swaths of the public. Perhaps one unexpected gift of Trump's grift has been to expose the absurdity of this extreme woke stuff and bring us - all of us - back to simple, everyday caring for each other without trying to impose some legalistic nonsense on the world.