Those people familiar with the content of my blog likely know about my opposition to policies regarding diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility (and derivatives thereunto), referred to as DEIA or just DEI. In short, I maintain that such procedures represent discriminatory action.
Following the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump on July 13, 2024, a national conversation about DEIA measures has ensued regarding the United States (U.S.) Secret Service and an apparent lapse in principal (personnel) protection. Concerning this matter, one source reports:
[O]ne narrative has quickly taken hold in parts of the right-wing media ecosystem: The security failure was the result of workforce diversity initiatives and women working as Secret Service agents […] right-wing media pundits have targeted the female agents’ response, claiming they lacked the experience, size, and capability to handle the situation.
To steel-man the argument, I suspect that some people believe females are essentially equal to males and therefore should, must, or ought to be artificially placed in similarly situated positions concerning educational, occupational, and other settings through use of enforced DEIA measures. To understand this imagined argument, consider the following hypothetical syllogism:
Form –
If p, then q; if q, then r; therefore, if p, then r.
Example –
If females are equal to males, then women should occupy job roles historically occupied by men.
If women should occupy job roles historically occupied by men, then females are as competent at principal protection as males.
Therefore, if females are equal to males, then females are as competent at principal protection as males.
Assessing this proposal through use of logic and reason, logic of the syllogism is sound. However, I posit that the premises and conclusion aren’t reasonable. Thus, that which doesn’t comport with logic and reason is irrational, as I maintain that this DEIA position isn’t rational.
Explaining my disagreement with this proposal, in a blogpost entitled When Idealism Doesn’t Stack Up to Realism I addressed my former role on a tactical team when in the Marine Corps and serving as a Marine Security Guard (MSG) by stating:
The female MSG featured in the photo for this post was placed in the rear of the tactical stack for a reason—she couldn’t physically compete with her male counterparts. Idealistically, it didn’t matter what male members of the team believed or “felt” about her capabilities.
Realistically, the female member of our team couldn’t outrun us and she had less upper body strength. Various tactical maneuvers required for dynamic force didn’t create an appropriate setting for the testing of idealistic feminist proposals.
In an ideal world, females (girls and women) would be equal to men in physical strength, intelligence, and other abilities, and thus should be afforded DEIA enforcement of leveling action to ensure they’re artificially inserted into various settings in the interest of equality.
However, in the real world, males (boys and men) aren’t equal to one another, let alone to females, so artificial and discriminatory DEIA measures aren’t necessary. Especially in regard to principal protection, a meritocratic system based on ability would provide a higher level of security than would DEIA-influenced selection criteria.
Apparently, authorities within the U.S. Secret Service disagree. According to one source:
The director of equity at the Secret Service calls it a “mission imperative” and the “ultimate goal” to spread DEI within the agency, with the agency hosting seminars on “respectful use of pronouns.”
The executive director of the Secret Services’ Office of Equity Loucious Hires III discussed diversity, equity and inclusion, “a topic that is difficult for some to talk about,” on the official government podcast “Standing Post” in February 2023. The agency said it was striving to be the “gold standard” of DEI in a recruitment brochure that same year.
During the podcast, the equity director outlined how every action at the Secret Service should be informed by DEI and claimed the ideology makes the organization stronger. Every employee should consider how every action is reflective of equity, according to the director.
When it comes to principal protection, what difference does it make that one is black or white, has an innie or an outie, or self-identifies as he or she? Isn’t protection of the principal the sole job of the security detail? Apparently not. According to one source:
Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service’s chief of communication, said in the statement: “We stand united against any attempt to discredit our personnel and their invaluable contributions to our mission and are appalled by the disparaging and disgusting comments against any of our personnel.”
“As an elite law enforcement agency, all of our agents and officers are highly trained and fully capable of performing our missions,” he said.
“It is an insult to the women of our agency to imply that they are unqualified based on gender. Such baseless assertions undermine the professionalism, dedication and expertise of our workforce,” he added.
Rather than addressing actual claims of those who oppose DEIA standards, it would appear as though Secret Service personnel merely label legitimate criticism as an “insult” to women of the agency. This form of ad hominem fallacy isn’t useful.
The main issue is that, on average, males and females have different body compositions and DEIA-based leveling standards decrease overall detail capability. Ostensibly defending against this claim of obvious sex/gender differences, one self-contradictory source states:
Women have been part of the Secret Service since 1971. All agents, male or female, must meet the same standards to join the force, although women candidates have different physical fitness requirements.
This is akin to an educator declaring, “Everyone in this class, male and female, must meet the same standards to pass the exam, although women have a different requirement of needing a minimum score of 70 while men have a minimum score of 90.”
Of course, discriminatory practice of this sort isn’t unique to military positions such as my former role on a tactical team or within the ranks of the Secret Service. DEIA measures also impact the field of health care. According to one source:
‘Pale, male, and stale’ is bandied about in medicine. I guess it represents a group of doctors who are pale, male (be careful in these gender fluid times), and stale (a simple proxy for ageism) who have had a pervasive and negative influence in the profession. But we should be wary of stereotyping for it is the instrument of the populist!
My generation is no homogeneous group of men and women, but a colourful and flawed spectrum, who generally devote themselves to the profession and their patients, frequently to the detriment of themselves and their families. But we live in the days of ‘intersectionality’, which seems to reduce every individual to a list of ticks and crosses. Is stereotyping acceptable so long as it’s the ‘right’ type of stereotyping?
Is it the case that stereotyping and other discriminatory practice is acceptable as long as such action disadvantages one’s ideological opponents? Discussing the obnoxious “pale, male, and stale” slogan, one author shares an observational anecdote:
[T]he stale, pale, male conversation was taking place between educated women talking about equality. Don’t get me wrong, it was a very interesting conversation and raised many excellent points. But I think what I am uncomfortable about is having a discussion about equality that seeks to raise one group above another by presenting them as somehow a superior alternative.
This ageist, racist, and sexist slogan serves as an excuse for DEIA measures. To understand how irrational this form of reasoning is, consider the following disjunctive syllogism:
Form –
Either p or q; not p; therefore, q.
Example –
Either it’s acceptable to allow equality of opportunity that may lead to a pale, male, and stale workforce or it’s unacceptable to allow meritocracy to result in unequal outcomes.
It’s not acceptable to allow equality of opportunity that may lead to a pale, male, and stale workforce.
Therefore, it’s unacceptable to allow meritocracy to result in unequal outcomes.
Disappointingly, the bigoted slogan has been around for longer than one may’ve otherwise thought. According to one source, “In 1992 NASA administrator Daniel Goldin declared that the agency was too ‘pale, male and stale.”
When pragmatic application of DEIA standards is put to the test, such as arguably may’ve been the case with an apparent Secret Service breakdown in principal protection for Trump, real life consequences can lead to further potentially devastating effects. Commentary on reality is a matter of rationality, not bigotry.
Therefore, I remain opposed to pale, male, and stale rhetoric and continue my objection to DEIA measures. Racial, sex/gender-based, and age-related superiority – for the sake of mere existence and not in connection with meritocratic capability – is a form of intolerance and I challenge such behavior.
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At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
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Gold, H. (2024, July 17). Right-wing media figures blame women in Secret Service and ‘DEI’ for security failure in Trump shooting. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/17/media/secret-service-agents-women-trump-shooting/index.html
Grossman, H. (2024, July 18). Secret Service equity director says DEI agenda is a ‘mission imperative,’ the ‘ultimate goal.’ Fox News. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/media/secret-service-equity-director-says-dei-agenda-mission-imperative-ultimate-goal
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Ingram, D. and Bunn, C. (2024, July 18). Secret Service says it’s appalled by DEI rhetoric against female agents after Trump rally shooting. NBC News. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/secret-service-condemns-backlash-against-women-agents-rcna161928
Katersky, A., Date, J., Margolin, J., Thomas, P., and Shalvey, K. (2024, July 18). Trump rally gunman purportedly left message on gaming platform before shooting: Sources. ABC News. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/US/fbi-assassination-attempt-trump-motive-investigation-phone-suspect/story?id=112057259
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