Each of us looks at the world through our own unique lens, formed by our own unique life experiences.
Some of us grew up surrounded by poverty and hardship, while others enjoyed lives of wealth and privilege. We are brown, black, red, yellow, white, and many shades in between. We are men, women, transgendered, and like our colors – many shades in between. Some of us are young and some very old. There are many who’ve obtained high levels of formal education, and many more whose education comes via the streets, the forests, and the oceans. We speak different languages, we have different talents, different abilities, different disabilities, different interests, and different cultures and religions.
We’re all in this together and we all deserve a seat at the table.
Whether it’s a government institution, public corporation, non profit, or school – the active and conscious practice of diversity, equity and inclusiveness – results in a stronger, better, more ethical, and more effective organization.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusiveness (DEI) is more than just a whipping boy “woke phrase” that President Trump and Musk love to hate on, and who toss it out like a slab of red meat to their true believers every chance they get.
Everyone deserves a seat at the table, everyone deserves to be treated equally, and our diversity strengthens us – this is the core of DEI.
We’re all related, interconnected and interdependent.
We all share a common responsibility to help each other, and to protect the planet we all call home.
At least this is the world I believe in.
And this my friends is where the line in the sand has been drawn.
We can agree to disagree on how best to deal with government waste, fraud, and abuse. We can even agree to disagree on tariffs, vaccines, and immigration policy.
But we cannot agree to disagree on the inherent evil of bigotry, and the fundamental values inherent in the principles of diversity, equality, and inclusivity.
My own immediate family of which I can trace direct lineage include individuals who were both born in America and others who immigrated there from other lands. My blood relatives are all of modest economic means, and include all colors, sexual identities, ages, as well as different abilities and disabilities.
My extended community ohana of people I love, respect, and know well – are the same. Just regular people representing the diversity of our planet.
Without question, our lives here in Hawai’i are richer and better because of the diversity that surrounds us. Yes, we can and must do better here as well, but we are blessed and privileged in many ways.
I understand but cannot forgive nor accept the bigotry and hate coming from the Trump/Musk world view.
They each were born into a white world of extreme wealth. Their view of the world is shaped by experiences totally different from those of common everyday people who struggle daily to just feed their families and pay the rent.
It’s not unusual that they surround themselves with other white men of wealth.
It’s what most of us do. We hang around with people like ourselves. The social-economics of life tend to support this trend. People who live in our neighborhood, tend to look like us. Even our place of employment too often reflects the inherent bias of the boss, and he or she will likely favor employing people most like them.
Thus the importance of DEI policy. Unless we consciously and actively seek out, support, and practice diversity, equality, and inclusion – it’s often too slow to happen.
And of course the sooner it happens, the sooner our world becomes a better place – for all of us.
Gary Hooser
garylhooser.com
GaryHooser's Blog 
Sadly the problem with DEI is not the concept, but the execution. The concept is that DEI gives minorities equal opportunity, however the execution has become quotas, rebalancing, and giving priority hiring to minorities over white people, regardless of qualifications. We need to focus on equality of opportunity, not a quota system that prioritizes skin color over ability and qualifications.
The concept is good, the execution is horrible.
I disagree and know of no widespread use of DEI policy to higher unqualified minorities over qualified white people. If two candidates are equally qualified and one is part of an “under-represented group” such as being female, a member of the LGBTQ community, a person of a different color, or a disabled person – if that “under-represented” person is of equal qualification – then the under-represented person adds more value to the organization because it adds diversity of world view and experience not now present in the organization. The added value of diversity is a real and tangible value and should be counted when balancing qualifications. Diversity adds value to the organization and to the broader community the organization serves and so should be recognized as a valuable component when evaluating otherwise qualified candidates to hire – this is especially true when setting hiring policies of public agencies and organizations utilizing public funds serving a public purpose.
You are describing the ideal, but even in doing so, you are showing the anti-white bias of “hire the minority over the white person”.
Regardless, that is not how it works in practice. In practice it is a quota system, full stop. A quota system is preferential hiring regardless of skills and abilities based on race. In a quota system, skills and abilities do not matter. The race matters. You might get lucky and randomly hire minorities with equal or better skills than the qualified white applicants, but that is by accident, not by design. Quota systems are bad for business, bad for morale, and bad for our culture.
The ideal is great, and I agree with the ideal. But the current application is not the ideal. The current application quickly became a quota system, or a race to see how many minorities could be packed in for optics.
Does any of this actually matter in Hawaii? In Hawaii, the bias should be towards pacific islanders, and against local Asian anyway.
I disagree. I am saying there is significant value for the organization and for society in increasing the diversity of an organization. This is not about an anti-white bias. You say you agree with the ideal. So why not pursue the ideal? “You might get lucky and randomly hire minorities with equal or better skills than qualified white applicants” – demonstrates your own preconceived notion and expectation that minorities would normally be less qualified than a white person. A “race to see how many minorities could be packed in for optics” again shows I believe your inherent bias. I am saying get rid of all inherent bias and seek qualified people who represent diverse world views and life experience – and the organization and society as a whole benefits. Final note…since I don’t think either of us is going to change their mind on this…My preference is to end the conversation here. Plus…you are sending messages from a site known for abuse and spam https://verifymail.io/domain/hartaria.com Mahalo for sharing!