Written by by Lewis Dovland at americanthinker.com
The recent Claudine Gay debacle at Harvard should once and for all open everyone’s eyes to the destructive nature of the DEI movement and its place in the Big Picture. After she completely flubbed an easy answer (for a sane person) about calling for the killing of Jews, it took the discovery of a series of over 40 separate examples of plagiarism to force Harvard to fire (actually, demote) her at full pay.
It’s easy to understand the emotional appeal of DEI, which is that it is only fair to promote a few unqualified people into positions they haven’t earned and do not deserve to bring about equality. This view holds that the only necessary qualification under a DEI appointment is the person’s continued compliance with and support of DEI as they manage their position. No matter any other skills or lack thereof, the Marxist lie is that only this type of hiring will force equality on institutions.
Indeed, many probably believed that one could even name Forrest Gump (if he were black) as a university president. After all, just how much damage could he do? In reality, very little. Unlike specialties such as surgeon, airline pilot, architect, pharmacist, or other positions where mistakes from incompetence can kill people, what’s the harm? Well, Claudine Gay personifies the harm, which is that DEI is theft.
The most valuable asset in education is created by the mind and is found in books, articles, research, and other compilations. It has value. Books can be sold, training courses can be billable, scientific research can be monetized, plus the creator of the content owns his or her output.
In an industry such as retail, success factors in a product are called trade secrets. In the software industry, computer code is called Intellectual Property (‘IP’). The IP work product of one’s mind is as valuable as any hard asset. All are protected by US law.
DEI is theft at Harvard. Not just the theft of the IP of other rightful owners through Gay’s plagiarism, but the theft of a coveted job position by an unqualified person who stole it—with the permission of the left—from other persons who earned it.