I saw a piece on the news, a tiny little piece, barely a mention really, that the Coca-Cola company is holding mandatory training for its' employees. The training is supposed to be anti-racism training. Well, that's the liberal explanation for it but the reality is the training is designed to guilt the white employees. It's the "woke" attitude that all white people feel superior to everyone else. They even cite "science" to support that theory. The training is supposed to make you feel less white. Combatting racism by promoting racist rhetoric. Well of course that is a racist statement in their thinking, you are not supposed to tell the truth about any of that. Only white people are racists, everyone else is suppressed and justified in demanding to be placed above the white folks. Well that's how you achieve equality you know, by placing the ones formally oppressed above the ones that oppressed them. It's like I always say, "everyone wants equality until they have it." It is at point the exceptions are fabricated placing those that are "equal" at an advantage. How many programs are there for white people to obtain preferential treatment in social programs? How many White Universities are there? Well, Coca -Cola figures they will change all of that by training their employees to be less white. Perhaps they should only hire non-white people then, problem solved.
When I heard that I was reminded of my Navy days. The Navy didn't have any formal training in race relations or anything like that. But, the Navy would hold some training for the crew before allowing you to go ashore in foreign lands. This training concerned local customs. In Arab nations don't shake hands with your right hand or pick up food with that hand either. It will gross out the people. That's the hand used to wipe your butt! Don't look a woman's ankles in those countries either, not unless you want your eyes gouged out! This training would also tell you the "bad" neighborhoods, the places to avoid. That was always the most interesting part of the brief. In that way you knew where to go for a good time. In Naples, Italy for example, stay away from the castle. And don't go up the hill into those neighborhoods outside the city proper. And then the brief would wrap up with this warning, try not to look like Americans! Yes, that was the instruction. Mostly they didn't want you to dress like a cowboy, wear a lot of denim, tee shirts with writing on them, or boots. I always laughed about that, try not to look American. I wondered how to look European?
Towards the end of my naval career they did begin to hold diversity training. That was concerned mostly with women. The guys had to be trained in how to act like eunuchs. Be professional and never ever mention the fact that they are women. There are to be treated equally but they get their own special quarters, are exempt from certain activities, and should be treated differently. A kinder gentler Navy, more in touch with their feelings, was to be promoted. Any accusation from a female toward a male was taken immediately as the truth, no investigation, no facts or witnesses required. Females are the only ones that can be sexually harassed! That was diversity training, at least that's how it was in my day. That's not to say the ladies didn't do a fine job and where valuable assists to the command. It's just that they were equal, but separate. Hmm, remember that policy from history?
This whole guilt trip thing isn't new to me. I was raised with that method to a large degree. Isn't that the whole premise behind the major religions of the world? If you're guilty of doing wrong you are punished, forever! My own mother is the master of the guilt trip method of raising children. That's true even in its' most subtle form. If everyone else jumped off the bridge I guess you would too! The subtle implication being, you're an idiot! So when I hear that being white somehow makes me guilty for what other white people did in the past, I'm not moved by that. I didn't do it! My ancestors didn't own slaves, at least none I'm aware of did. Thing is, even if they did, it's not my fault, I'm not guilty of that. I was born white, guilty as charged. Not my fault, blame my parents for that. I was never, at any time, told that being white gave me privilege of any kind. I was told to not go into the black neighborhood uninvited as that might not end well. I'm certain black children were told the same thing about going into the white neighborhoods. Of course the white folks were just being racist in that advice, and the black people were only teaching survival skills. Guess I should have been taught to not act white instead! Well, I've been working on that. The course that Coca-Cola is using is available online at Linkedin.
So disturbing and divisive..enjoy your musings..
ReplyDelete