Students in university-run leadership positions are often required to participate in some type of diversity training because simply being a just and logical person is no longer enough to lead a group of people. Instead, one must be immersed in every type of culture, background, and lifestyle the Office of Diversity Programs and Services can comprehend. The Resident Advisor preparation I was given at George Mason University recently was no exception, and I have broken down GMU diversity indoctrination into five easy steps so that you, too, can become the sensitive person the Left wants you to be.
Step #1: “Examine and come to terms with your own personal prejudices.”
Feminist scholar Peggy McIntosh had no idea she was a bigot until she was forced to take an honest look at herself. In school, she received “no training in seeing [herself] as an oppressor, as an unfairly advantaged person, or as a participant in a damaged culture.” The diversity training team knows that you are probably guilty of similar charges, so before the training begins, you must first recognize yourself as the “participant in a damaged culture” that you truly are.
Step #2: “Take responsibility for addressing discrimination you encounter on campus.”
The second step is the Left’s subliminal way of reminding you that those truly needing diversity training (whites, specifically males) are at fault for the plights of women and minorities. Embrace the fact that discrimination is your fault and do something about it.
George Mason University, like many public universities, is an affirmative action institution, meaning they discriminate on the basis of race and/or gender when accepting and rejecting applicants for admission. Although this obvious bigotry exists in the admissions process, I have an inkling this is not what the trainers meant when they ask you to “[address] discrimination you encounter on campus.”
Step #3: “Get involved in activities and events sponsored by different groups…[or] enroll in a semester-long cultural diversity course or workshop, or a course about a culture different from your own.”
In the third step, you must begin to immerse yourself into various cultures in order to grasp how truly difficult it is for such groups to exist in our society. You must delve deeply into the immersion process by formally educating yourself about diverse cultures. Unless you want to learn about white people, George Mason provides its students with a wide variety of programs, including: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month; Black History Month; Safe zone training to become an “ally” to the members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Community; Hispanic Heritage Month; and American Indian Heritage Week. Participating in these events is the best way to truly experience the difficult lives of minorities. After all, nothing says oppression like a Pow-Wow!
Step #4: “Make a sincere effort to establish a meaningful relationship with a student of a different ethnic or cultural background or lifestyle.”
In the fourth step you are to personalize your newfound sensitivity by using discriminatory practices to find a culturally different “friend.” Long gone are the days of freely associating with people because you like them or have something in common with them. Now you must create bonds with people for the purpose of easing your guilt for the inherent bigotry you never knew you had. Once you have done this, you can breathe easy knowing you have taken a poor, friendless minority under your wing.
Step #5: “Learn to overcome the tendency to stereotype members of various groups, and instead, try to develop a sensitivity to their feelings and experiences.”
Step five can be rather difficult because, after four steps of forcing yourself to become aware of cultural differences, you are now expected to ignore all of that and pretend these differences do not exist. But don’t worry; you’ve reached the end of your journey of diversity ignorance recovery! You can now take the knowledge you have acquired and be a true advocate for these poor, underrepresented groups. Can’t you feel your heart bleeding already?
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