Opening a can of worms

Well, after taking last Monday off for the Labor Day Holiday, I am back doing my weekly Monday blog.

This week I am going to be addressing a topic that may trigger some folks. As they say, "fools rush in, where angels fear to tread," so here I go.

I want to address the topic of diversity and inclusion. 

First off, I am writing this as a straight, white male going on 70, which gives me a perspective on how we got here and why we got here on this topic.

One definition of diversity and inclusions parameters:

A person who identifies as a woman, a person of color, a Muslim, a member of the LGBTQ community, a foreign-born non-citizen, a disabled person, an older person, a young person, and any other underrepresented people group.

 

My question asked is why any of these qualities, traits, or ethnicities qualify anyone for anything. Nothing here addresses the fact that very short ( P.C. here: vertically challenged ) people do not make the NBA or blind (P.C. again: visually challenged) folk don't make it in NASCAR.

It seems D&I only apply when there is ambiguous subjectivity involved. 

The sports analogy shouldn't be dismissed so lightly. Why would any other endeavore so rigorously be required to slot a person in just to fill an identity role? 

Men have dominated just about every endeavor up until recently. Maybe technology levels a lot of things. Is it just because just brute strength is not as necessary as it once was? 

Why are there not more female jockey's in horse racing? I believe every major sport would love to have the first female on a men's team. I watched Anika Sorenstam play the Colonial; no one is stopping her. She just couldn't make the cut.

When we lower strength requirements for police. military and EMT personnel are we not violating 

the Hippocratic oath of, "first do no harm?"

I could go on about why. Why no Asian defensive backs in the NFL? Why so few blacks and Hispanics in hockey? These are all too rampant in sports analogies. I would get redundant.

Why do Asians dominate our schools as academic achievers? Why are there not more women plumbers? 

Every President was a male, and until just recently was there a black President. Only three females have ever run and are running for Vice-President. Was it because voters didn't vote for someone solely based on their identity. Women and minorities have had the vote all my life. 

I am not sure why certain groups and specific identifiers happen. I am sure that with today's victim mentality and identity politics so pushed by our politicians, media, and academia, there would be a better, more reasonable explanation come forth that just explicit discrimination. 

All this being said, I know that whatever opinion I have is quickly dismissed and discredited because I am an old straight white male. 

I only hope that in the future, we can ride on airplanes that are flown by and built by the most qualified folks and not the most diverse. Just an example for sure. But when identity triumphs over anything else, the results will not turn out well.