If the goal of any team is to win, it would seem that the team should strive to recruit the best players available. Period.
Who cares how the players “identify” or what intersectional “victim class” they belong to. Just create what Dr. Jordan Peterson calls a “hierarchy of competence,” basically, an open and competitive training environment, and let the cream rise to the top.
Professional sports largely operate this way. It’s arguably why they’re such a popular form of entertainment that brings in billions of dollars each year. Fans tune in to see the best compete against the best.
In the case of the NBA, it just so happens that Blacks are disproportionately represented. Roughly 74 percent of the NBA is African American, even though they only make up 13 percent of the U.S. population.
Is this a shocking example of systemic racism against Whites, Asians, American Indians, Pacific Islanders, etc.? Or is it just that young, tall, extremely well-conditioned African American men tend to be the best basketball players on the planet?
Maybe there are some socio-cultural barriers that keep other races and ethnicities from succeeding in The Association, and if that’s the case those should be identified and eliminated to level the playing field so that equality of opportunity is maximized, but for the most part, I think we all accept the fact that the NBA has a rigorous selection process that does a fair job of separating the wheat from the chaff.
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Plus, no one is caterwauling for “equality of outcome” or “equity” when it comes to the NBA. No one is saying, for example, the NBA is deficient in 5’5”, portly, middle-aged, Italian-American plumbers.
The reason for this is obvious. Fans want their teams to win a championship. Imposing an equity-based model that puts Mario at point guard isn’t going to be a recipe for team success. Quite the opposite, it’s going to be an abject disaster!
Sure, one can argue that the league would be “more diverse” if there were more Marios and Luigis running down the court, but it wouldn’t be nearly as compelling. The quality of the play would dramatically decrease and viewership along with it.
The question then is why is our military, specifically USSOCOM, bending over backward to impose an equity-based model on its personnel?
Provided that there is equality of opportunity, shouldn’t the core concern be one of competency, not identity?
Put another way, if we don’t care about the lack of diversity in professional sports, why should we obsess over the reported lack of diversity in SOCOM?
Even more fundamentally, how do we know for sure that the diversity deficiency in the military is a product of things like “systemic racism” and “institutional bias” and “the cisgender patriarchy” and not individual preferences and choices?
Anyway, with that in mind, I leave you with USSOCOM’s “Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan for 2021.” Interested to hear your thoughts in the comments section.
whatta buncha CRAP, I mean fluff for those of you who live in constant fantasy……….
“As well as support and advance U.S policy’s.”
Do mean the dem’s policy’s? The media’s policy’s? Bidens’s vision of a week and devided nation?
Perfect for the taking.
Fair is fair. If you can do it great. If your the best then great. If your just ok and got a job because you filled the quota, then no! I want the best beside me when my life depends on it!
Wow. I’m glad that I read (actually just skimmed) the SOCCOM diversity action plan.
I can finally realize my dreams of a promising military career in the special forces, admitted under the diversity of physical abilities standard. Yes, I’m nearly 60, failed my Air Force physical when I was 17 due to scarred lungs from asthma (while being a varsity athlete in track & wrestling that was in great shape), but now that I couldn’t run 100 yards without collapsing, or do much but sit and watch TV, perhaps they will let me in.
Applying the NBA analogy cited in this article:
1. Has anyone noticed the “lack” of diversity in NBA?
2. If our current political / societal leadership want to peddle their agenda, why aren’t they mandating the NBA, NFL, etc. to reserve 7.2% of positions for Asian? And also mandate that these players — well all players — receive comparable compensation as the top tier players? These are TEAM sports after all, aren’t they?
3. Michael Jordan (Sorry, I don’t keep up with the latest trend) is mandated to share — equalize — his salary with the rests. Hey, you have to have 9 other “lesser” players on the court, otherwise you wouldn’t notice Mike’s talent and gift, right?
4. Why aren’t Asian kids given “handicap points”, e.g. seconds shaved off swim time like points being added to the college entrance exam scores of certain ethnicities / races or students?
I posed these question to corporate leadership and HR rep several times, and the unanimous responses have always been: “It’s all about on the job performance!”
To which I then asked: “So how is our work environment any different?”
This is nothing but DIVIDE AND CONQUER. BolsheviK 2.0, 104 years later. First Moscow, second Nanjing (well PRC chose Beijing as capital), rests of the Third World, now Washington, D.C.
Middle aged white guy here, and I’m cracking up over the histrionic tone of this article. Strong scared feelings!
Here’s the thing: All of us, whether we’re old white guys, mean 4th grade girls, or Vietnamese immigrants, tend to have a strong affinity for people that look and act like us. It’s just the way it is.
If you have an organization that’s primarily staffed and led by one group, that organization will tend to promote and cater to the group that leads it. USSOCOM isn’t any different.
Beat your breast and screech about the meritocracy all you want. People will still tend to prefer the company of people that look and act like them.
It is incredibly uncomfortable to think or talk about this stuff. And when people start to ask for their share of the pie, if you’ve always had two slices to yourself, it can feel like someone is coming for all your pie.
I don’t think USSOCOM will knowingly promote incompetent leaders. I appreciate their effort to try and find good people in places they might not have looked before. We should all take some deep breaths and see whether it works or not.
The sky is not falling here.
Wow, from your post, I believe you entered into that article with a predetermined idea, and then justified it, ignoring much of what was written.
Falling skies were NOT in there.
I wouldn’t take advice from you if you were the last one around.
A fecal deposit in a punchbowl also qualifies as “diversity and inclusion.”
With about the same effect.
Thank you Lloyd Austin and Mark Milley…neither of which would have been fit to change George Patton’s bed pan “back in the day”!
Start brushing up on your Mandarin and Russian folks!
S.H. Analberry why are you so divisive? Everything that you write is fear based. From the coming of a second civil war. To the communist are taking over the country. Who cares that Socom wants to be more inclusive. I’m sure that they will still be the the best of the best and the tip of the spear in our military.
Have ever given any thought about individuals culture? Why are basketball players mostly black? Let’s see…. maybe its because as children that is a sport they watch others play. They are admiring them and want to become them. Why are golfers mostly white? Let’s see….. maybe its there culture. Wealthier white men typically enjoy golf. It’s just part of their culture, race has nothing to do with anyone’s ability to be the best at a certain thing. Why is hunting done mostly by white men in rural parts of the country…….its their culture. Why is Nascar mostly driven by white men and watched be mostly white men in the southern states, its their culture. Are you butt hurt that Nascar is banning the Rebel flag??? Because they want to be more inclusive and have a bigger fanbase? Wake up S.H. American has always been a progressive country if you look at our history we are always changing. And we changed for the better. America is better today than it was 50, 70, 90, 170 years ago. There is nothing wrong with trying to be more inclusive. Maybe this is just propaganda to encourage different ethnicities/women to shoot for the stars in the military and join Socom to be the elite of our military and maybe become the top Brass in their military career.
Why are Rappers mostly black? It’s their culture! And there is nothing wrong with having your own culture. And you dont have to like it. But you should respect it. Much like you yourself having your own culture. You just want to be left alone. You want to enjoy your gun collection and enjoy the shooting sports. Whatever you may consider. Its your hobby, carrier, livelihood and passion.
I really hope that you get to read this. As a passionate firearm collector myself and a person who really enjoy precision shooting sports. Your articles always suck, and I mean always.
-Solo
Spoken like a true Marxist. You people are obsessed with race and gender. You reject individual inalienable rights. It is progressive to destroy the individual. Mommy and Daddy probably paid for you to go to a four year hate fest huh?
And again, the Chinese armed forces (CCP) are utilizing the exact opposite approach. They are playing geo-political chess while our current regime either doesn’t grasp checkers or has intentionally sold us out.