I received this lil blurb a few days ago... the last day of November, to be precise... and didn't post it because we had other, smaller, and way more mediocre fish to fry. But that was then and this is now.
A Diversity Roadmap: Air Force officials have launched a Diversity Strategic Roadmap designed to help the service "attract, recruit, develop, and retain a high quality, talented Total Force." Members of the Air Force diversity operations division wrote the document and officials in USAF's manpower and personnel directorate are charged with overseeing execution of the roadmap's priorities. "We hope to foster an environment in which every individual's contribution is valued and respected and we can capitalize on the uniqueness of each airman to enhance organizational effectiveness and readiness," said Lt. Gen. Richard Newton, deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel. He added, "Diversity allows everyone . . . to reach his or her potential and provide their capabilities to the Air Force and to the joint team." The Air Force released the document on Nov. 17. (SAF/PA report by TSgt. Amaani Lyle) (Diversity Strategic Roadmap full text)
"...and we can capitalize on the uniqueness of each airman..." Oh, my aching ass. You don't wanna know how many times I was taken to the woodshed for expressing my "uniqueness" back in the day. Ah, well. That was then, this is now. One certainly wonders just how unique you can possibly be while wearing the uniform. O, the sheer frickin' irony of it all.
I was gonna quote something snarky about "diversity" and its inherent evils, so off we went to Google in search of blog-fodder. I was amazed at the result of my search, wherein Google corrected me ever-so-gently while substituting the correct "diversity grants" for "diversity rants." I shit thee not, and here's proof:
Nevermind. Just never fucking mind. I give up. I'll just quietly fold my tent, sneak off into the night, and apply for one of those grants... I can always serve as a bad example, if nothing else.
"Diversity Strategic Roadmap" What a crock!! It's just another spin on whomever kisses the most ass gets to the top first!! And Buck I shared time in the woodshed myself for my personal diversity! Great read, maybe I should apply for one of those "Diversity Grants"!
ReplyDeleteCan't express it much better than you have without launching into an obscenity-laced tirade.
ReplyDeleteBuzz words are all the rage. All it is is sucking up to the politically correct.
ReplyDeleteI've made frequent reference to the "Space Alien Living in the Laundry Room" genre of mid-20th-century television, in which some visitor from another time/world/planet had to have our mundane weirdness explained to him. Point to the exercise being, that we do things that make sense to us only because we've gradually become acclimated to them. I Dream of Jeannie, Mork & Mindy, My Favorite Martian, etc.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you'd be able to make a television show like that anymore.
Just anything in which the word "diversity" is used -- which is just about everything we do now -- would be enough to tripwire the alien's curiosity and pain-in-the-ass questions. The whole point to it is that we're all good, and hence, should not discriminate. Right? But if you need to "promote" something that's a tacit admission that we're not adequate as we are, right? That we have to be fixed? Some assembly required?
And if we're generating all this adrenaline and sweat to make a society that's a good fit for everybody...then where do we put the rejects that come out of this process? Allowing them to integrate with the rest is abso-freakin'-lutely out of the question, is it not?
On few occasions in human history, has anything placed so much effort into pretending it's the polar opposite of what it really is.
Dale: What troubles me is the length the military has gone to in becoming politically correct. The attitude is NOT good for the services, at ALL.
ReplyDeleteJim: Yup.
Lou: Buzz words I can deal with, we had 'em in my day, too. It's the sheer amount of manpower and resources devoted to this quixotic bullshit that gets me.
Morgan: You touched on the insidious nature of "diversity." but the inference is long past the tacit stage when you have entire freakin' directorates devoted to being politically correct. The fact the organizations and published plans exist are expressed admissions of our perceived inadequacy, perception being in the eye of the generals and their benefactors. That, in large part, is what pisses me off the most. The force wasn't broke, there's no fucking need to "fix it."
Can you imagine what General Patton would say? :} about "diversity"
ReplyDeleteIf you get one of them thar grants, would you hire me to collect info for your report?
ReplyDeleteI mean, I've got a son in (for now, unless they boot him on Monday...long story that has this old man seething...again), and I'm less than a mile from B-dale. I'll do a good job, really I will. And, I'll only bill you for ACTUAL time.
Don't even get Pepper started.
ReplyDeletePat: We'll never see the likes of Patton again.
ReplyDeleteAndy: You'll be the FIRST guy I call if I get the grant. Heh.
Moogie: It's good to know I'm not alone.
You know how I feel about manpower and personnel folks in the Air Force. I'll leave my thoughts at that in the interests of not having history repeat itself.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Mike... I know how ya feel. On both counts. :-)
ReplyDelete