I find it bewildering and worrisome, the way people think that this little monster won't grow and will stay on their leash.
So, now the people who are getting the pointy end of the stick are the people who used to do the poking. I for one prefer the new paradigm to the old.
The anti-cancel-culture people make it sound like they are being horribly oppressed. But for what? The color of their skin? Their gender or sexuality? No, simply for the dumb words they insist on uttering. Say what you what, when you want, to whomever you want, but don't tell me you realistically expect there to be no consequences.
Same as it ever was.
What has changed is you are part of the group punching down but you think you are punching up.
It always happens this way. That other group is always: wrong, dangerous, not like us and any action against them is justified.
Seen it, heard it before. The interesting part is when the groups switch and people still think they are an underdog.
At work last week, our "diversity and equity" team announced that our company is "obviously" not diverse enough.
This is a company in the US with employees across North America and Europe, with some employees in South America, Australia, India, and even Africa, and not just South Africa, either.
The company does have more employees in Europe and North America than elsewhere, and those employees share one thing in common: skin color. They do not share a nationality, a language, a cuisine, or a mindset.
The only possible interpretation of the D&I&E officer is that there is too much white skin at our company.
Is that horrible oppression? No, but it is racist and prejudiced AF and I would 100% lose my job of I said a single word.
I'll readily concede that many companies do this for image reasons alone, though I'm sure some do it out of a genuine belief that diversity can lead to better business outcomes, or create a more desirable workplace for attracting new talent. But in the end, this is the decision of a private company and they are not being coerced to make these decisions by any authority, nor does it sound like they are breaking any laws.