This is not a vent board or any other kind of therapy. Before you hit the POST button, ask yourself if your contribution will add to the level of discussion going on.

Important notes on articles:

• Please do not copy entire articles into your post; rather, provide links to them.. We are now links-only for ALL Internet publications. If only a small portion of the article pertains to your post, Fair Use allows you to copy those one or two paragraphs, provided you cite the author's name and the publication for which he writes. Otherwise, put a link in the HTTP Link box.
• Even if you're copying a reference to an article, provide a link to the page from which the article came. We're trying to cut down on duplicate topics, and the posting process will check the link to your article to see if it's already being discussed on this board. At the very least, you'll save yourself some grief on the boards.
• If your first reaction after reading the article you're going to share is the author is uninformed / stupid / a jerk / all of the above, it's not worth sharing with anyone. Not every article needs to be discussed. The more the hair-pulling articles are discussed (e.g. ESPN Page 2), the more the authors will write hair-pulling articles.

Post being replied to

I think your first point deserves more discussion. by Dutch

I'm hopeful that the current spotlight on Harvard and Ackman's essay will lead to a constructive dialog. I agree whole heartedly that, "There is no agreed upon definitions so everyone has a different idea of what they are discussing which can make conversations difficult." That needs to change and hopefully Ackman's essay will cause a step in the right direction.

This might be part of the Rorschach test, but I did not read Ackman's essay as presenting an argument of diversity efforts generally. Rather, I read it as an argument against the "oppressor/oppressed framework" that is rooted in critical theory, has evolved in critical race theory, is fundamental to Kendi's racist/anti-racist dichotomy, and is integral to some peoples' understanding of DEI. As Ackman wrote, "Then I did more research. The more I learned, the more concerned I became, and the more ignorant I realized I had been about DEI, a powerful movement that has not only pervaded Harvard, but the educational system at large. I came to understand that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was not what I had naively thought these words meant."

As a condition precedent to making real improvements, we need to agree on what the relevant words mean.