Live data from Hacker News

Mandated diversity statement drives Jonathan Haidt to quit academic society

reason.com

31–40 of 906 posts

Re: Mandated diversity statement drives Jonathan Haidt to quit academic society

#31
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In other words, you make snap judgements and assumptions about people based on their age, race, and sex.

That is in fact what the book How to be Anti-Racist prescibes that you do. Part of the thesis of that book is that you are a racist if you treat people as individuals. To be Anti-Racist, you must treat people as part of their collective and then treat them well or badly based on membership of that collective in the name of equity. Thus whites and asians must be treated poorly because of their race and other minoritie…

That’s not the thesis of the book.

Re: Mandated diversity statement drives Jonathan Haidt to quit academic society

#32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not even diversity. They replaced the word diversity with anti-racism.

And anti-racism is actually just racism towards whites and Asians.

That’s not true. Why do you think that?

Re: Mandated diversity statement drives Jonathan Haidt to quit academic society

#33
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is in fact what the book How to be Anti-Racist prescibes that you do. Part of the thesis of that book is that you are a racist if you treat people as individuals. To be Anti-Racist, you must treat people as part of their collective and then treat them well or badly based on membership of that collective in the name of equity. Thus whites and asians must be treated poorly because of their race and other minoritie…

Indeed, and the problem with all that is that it’s stupid and wrong.

As stupid and wrong it is, it is invading every aspect of our professional lives. It's extremely disturbing to find how many of my generation (let's say 30s & 40s) have accepted this belief system uncritically.

It seems at least that zoomers are somewhat more critical, or at least 50-50 on the topic. It's going to take many, many decades to unravel the harm this is causing.

Re: Mandated diversity statement drives Jonathan Haidt to quit academic society

#34
post #9
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

> newly adopted requirement that everybody presenting research at the group's conferences explain how their submission advances "equity, inclusion, and anti-racism goals." Diversity is fine. But every single piece of research has to be related to diversity? Is it not possible to do research on anything else that maybe doesn’t have anything to do with identity issues? This is not a statement about promoting diversity,…

>> Is it not possible to do research on anything else that maybe doesn’t have anything to do with identity issues?

It's the Society for Personality and Social Psychology ...

You may as well ask is not possible to submit to the Association for Computing Machinery a piece of research unrelated to computing.

Re: Mandated diversity statement drives Jonathan Haidt to quit academic society

#35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is in fact what the book How to be Anti-Racist prescibes that you do. Part of the thesis of that book is that you are a racist if you treat people as individuals. To be Anti-Racist, you must treat people as part of their collective and then treat them well or badly based on membership of that collective in the name of equity. Thus whites and asians must be treated poorly because of their race and other minoritie…

That’s not the thesis of the book.

Absolutely it is and presented clearly as so.

The book presents 5 questions to settle the question of "Am I racist?"

__always giving primacy to the individual over the collective, or group;

__always embracing the concept of individual rights to help me judge problematic social interactions;

__never assessing quantities of stuff in gauging whether a policy is racist;

__always attempting to embrace the “color-blind rule” when making choices;

__always maintaining awareness of the distinctions between equity and equality; never compromizing equality of rights in order to bring about equity of stuff.

Re: Mandated diversity statement drives Jonathan Haidt to quit academic society

#37
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No that's bullshit. If you ask me to say "I hate hitler and bin laden" for no reason I would have a similar reaction as well. How can people put up with this filth? It repulses and disgusts me so much when kindness, compassion and even justice are absorbed by this bureaucratic ideological machine where people say and do things out if insincerity, just as lip service to fall in line politically. How do people feel com…

How do you feel about standing for the national anthem? Does that repulse you too?

You are generally free not to stand for the national anthem.

Suppose the SPSS (the professional society Haidt left in protest) had instead made a rule that they would play the national anthem at the start of every conference and anyone who didn’t stand wouldn’t be allowed to present their research.

If he had left in protest of that, would you assume he’s an unpatriotic asshole who hates America or that he’s standing up for free speech?

Re: Mandated diversity statement drives Jonathan Haidt to quit academic society

#38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And anti-racism is actually just racism towards whites and Asians.

That’s not true. Why do you think that?

But the SPSP requirement went a step further, dropping "diversity" in favor of "anti-racism," a term frequently associated with Boston University's Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist and other works. Among the book's passages is a widely shared one highlighted by Haidt:

"The only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination."

Re: Mandated diversity statement drives Jonathan Haidt to quit academic society

#40
post #34
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> newly adopted requirement that everybody presenting research at the group's conferences explain how their submission advances "equity, inclusion, and anti-racism goals." Diversity is fine. But every single piece of research has to be related to diversity? Is it not possible to do research on anything else that maybe doesn’t have anything to do with identity issues? This is not a statement about promoting diversity,…

>> Is it not possible to do research on anything else that maybe doesn’t have anything to do with identity issues? It's the Society for Personality and Social Psychology ... You may as well ask is not possible to submit to the Association for Computing Machinery a piece of research unrelated to computing.

Are you saying there is not a single aspect of personality that is unrelated to race?

That seems pretty racist.

Post reply on HN