This is also why “woke” becoming a common word was bad for both sides. Not only is it nonspecific, but it starts to mean different things to different people and diverges over time. It’s easier to demonize something with a nonspecific meaning for exactly that reason.
There’s a meme that says “everything I don’t like is woke”, and while it’s funny, that’s literally the process that happens when such terms become catchalls – what they catch depends on what any individual speaker wants out of using it.
With DEI, the process has been the same. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are many people who believe it’s bad (because they were told that and lack critical thinking skills) and may not even know what the acronym stands for.
This is also why “woke” becoming a common word was bad for both sides. Not only is it nonspecific, but it starts to mean different things to different people and diverges over time. It’s easier to demonize something with a nonspecific meaning for exactly that reason.
There’s a meme that says “everything I don’t like is woke”, and while it’s funny, that’s literally the process that happens when such terms become catchalls – what they catch depends on what any individual speaker wants out of using it.
With DEI, the process has been the same. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are many people who believe it’s bad (because they were told that and lack critical thinking skills) and may not even know what the acronym stands for.