[nperez]

I think I'm mostly in agreement with your points. I think a significant part of the downfall of DEI was deliberate bad-faith behavior from those who actually oppose equality, but there are also things to be learned about how DEI programs were run.

I've been in mandatory corporate DEI seminars that I had high hopes for, only to find that they felt overly prescriptive and ill-equipped for the complexities of trying to be sensitive to every culture. Having to jump in and explain "Well, some Latinos actually find LatinX to be an offensive term, so you might get the stink-eye if you use it" was a bit uncomfortable for me personally, for example. Getting it all right is hard, and getting a few things wrong can leave a really bad taste.

[unclebucknasty]

It is hard to get right, and there is definitely work to be done on the approach(es).

Ironically, I think the idea itself that it's all so very sensitive is one of the biggest barriers to progress. People are afraid to be open and honest about biases, beliefs, ignorance, curiosities, etc. So, in an effort to ensure that no one is ever offended, companies tend to fall back to these prescriptive simplifications that rest on things like terminology.

Of course, that just reinforces the fear and the divide.

The irony is that it can also seed resentment to simply lecture people about their vocabulary and other third rails. OTOH, when real interaction is allowed to take place, there is an opportunity for humor and humanity to arise. Mistakes will be made, but progress is more about good faith and extending grace on all sides.

So, it's, using x terminology doesn't mean I hate you. I just didn't know. When you assume that good faith, then your guard goes down. And, if I know that you know that, then I'm not going to be so fearful, and my guard drops too.

Next thing you know, we're having an actual conversation.