Um...What?!

It's a pretty normal Saturday morning for my house. We are all just getting up and around. After a time with coffee, I grab my computer to tune in to work. As a college instructor, my work hours are scattered randomly throughout home time, as I try to keep up with emails, grading, and class prep. 

Email comes first. And what I read has left me stunned. I'm really struggling and have come here to try to sort it out. 

A synopsis of what I read is this...The University of Michigan-Flint is making "historic" changes to faculty and staff awards that were created to specifically acknowledge women and people of color. These awards have been deemed illegal and against the policy of discrimination based on gender and race. So instead of setting aside some resources to acknowledge faculty and staff from historically under-represented groups (especially in higher education and academia), these awards are now open to all. In an institution where white, male privilege runs rampant, it has now been determined that white males have been "discriminated against".  To add insult to injury, the author of the email (and implied crusader of the movement) is a white male. (Enter eye roll here). Even more rich, he's a professor of finance and economics. 

Hence, the title of this post. Um...What?! 

What the hell does a white male professor of business and economics know about racial and gender discrimination?  Please note that this is a rhetorical question because the answer is nothing. When a rich, white, male complains that he is being discriminated against by policies that work to fix imbalances caused by actual discrimination, I have a visceral rage reaction.  

Racial and gender discrimination is based on literally hundreds (maybe thousands) of years of prejudice attitudes against these groups. It is a result of power inequality and longstanding beliefs that those in power have gained that power because they deserve it. They are superior beings and their higher qualities have gained them the power they have received. With these attitudes, it easily follows that those not in positions of power do not have the superior qualities. They are inferior and deserve their lower existence in life.  Any effort to rebalance this power dynamic are consistently met with the kind of resistance expected from those who wish to keep their positions of power. 

Let me say it this way. Never in the existence of America have white males been on the receiving end of discrimination. They cannot be. It's impossible because they have always been and continue to remain in power. They can be victims of stereotypes and prejudice, just like everyone else. But the discrimination that we are fighting against does not apply to them because discrimination is about power...and they still hold it. 

It seems that there is this movement to change the definition of discrimination to mean simply treating anyone differently. We are no longer allowed to treated anyone differently. We must treat everyone equally. But seeking equity between groups is not solved by treating everyone equally. I am reminded of this simple graphic.

 

So, yeah. I'm kinda pissed. Changing policies to be equal creates inequity (See above graphic if you still don't understand). So now, these acknowledgements meant to help women and people of color share in an equitable environment have been erased. The impact will be that less woman and people of color get acknowledged, less get promoted, less are placed in positions of administrative power, and inequity remains.