Thursday, August 18, 2011

Diversity Thursday

This was in draft for publication last year about this time, but fell through the buffer.

That's OK - it is still worth it. This time NAVAIR is in the cultural Marxism political game.

BEHOLD!
All,

I would very much like to have your participation in a seminar on "Unintentional Intolerance" provided by dynamic speaker Dr. Steve Robbins on Wednesday, 11 August, from 9:00 - 10:30 and 1:00 - 2:30, Building 1489, Room 101/102 (2 separate sessions.)

"Unintentional Intolerance" is a phrase coined by the nationally recognized diversity and inclusion consultant reflecting his belief that understanding biases is really about "understanding human behavior in a diversity context."

Dr. Robbins is a faculty member at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI, in addition to consulting and working with numerous businesses and organizations across the country including Toyota, General Mills, the National Cancer Institute, Pfizer, and many others. His presentation makes the point that exclusion and intolerance takes place even with individuals and organizations that are committed to diversity and inclusion. He accomplishes this through a discussion of human sociology and Neuro-science, and a healthy dose of humor.

Dr. Robbins will show us how "mindless exclusion" can be changed into "mindful inclusion". While the differences that make each of us unique are valued and respected at NAVAIR, we all have biases that we are often unaware of, or think little about. These biases influence our behavior, attitude and decision-making as we interact with others on a daily basis.

I strongly encourage your attendance at this event which is particularly relevant for HR practitioners who are often the first members of NAVAIR to interact with prospective or incoming employees. As we engage in the business of "human resources" we must be careful to be "mindful" of the inadvertent harm caused by "mindless" human interaction in a diverse world. Join Dr. Robbins for a thought-provoking, eye-opening, often humorous look at "Unintentional Intolerance". Limited seating will be available on a first-come first-serve basis.
That is why I call it an Diversity Industry.

Funny - you run out of real discrimination, so you have to invent it as a thought crime.

Enjoy it, you the taxpayer paid for it.


27 comments:

DeltaBravo said...

Unintentional Intolerance?  You mean like a news service titling an article about a certain presidential bus tour "Spook My Ride?"

:(   Uh..oh.....

The Usual Suspect said...

A key element of all stereotypes is that they have some truth to them.  Having worked for a a Fortune 50 company hell bent on diversity and inclusion, we had the endless workshops.  Some of the practitioners would go through a little drill at the beginning of each indoctrination - er, uh, workshop that is- that involved writing down stereotypes assocaited with different racial or ethnic groups.  Guess what?  Even members of those groups held the same stereotypes about themselves that other groups did.  Time to get over it, grow up, and grow some thick skin.  Sticks and stones people.  Sticks and stones.  Hope I didn't offend anyone...drip, drip, drip sarcasm.

pk said...

yeah those things alwayse start out with some loaded questions and your answer is alwayse wrong so they can point out that what they are going to say is absolutely correct and if you don't agree whole heartedly your'an a$$hole.

C

Anonymous said...

If any group is intolerant, it is the diversity group.

banzai said...

I would rather have been rick-rolled than watch that.  It looks like a Naval War College lecture I would walk out of.

Over-the-hill-spook said...

Ka-ching!

dc said...

I like how the speaker lulls his audience into a bored stupor then unleashes a personal assault on the unsuspecting rubes, causing them to self identify as Closed Minded Racists. Thusly, he establishes his authoriTAY.

After thirty years of disunity indoctrination, I have acquired the skill to present a stone face that shows no emotion or humor when one of these jerks is talking. Because big brother is indeed watching for reaction.

I'm beginning to miss America, land of the free.

Grumpy Old Ham said...

Sounds like a little "Reconnaissance by Fire" to me.

Grumpy Old Ham said...

Good grief.  That N134 org chart on page 3 of the first link is conveniently labeled and color coded by sex/gender and race.  Talk about a rainbow Navy...glad to see all the bases are apparently covered.

Never mind the waste of billets and MIL/CIVPAY represented by the 3xO-6, 3xO-5, 8xO-4, and assorted JO's, PO's and civilians (at probably an average grade of GS-12).  All that on top of the overpaid "consultants" like the one on the video.

Words, at least those remotely suitable for mixed company, fail me. >:o  

Anonymous said...

That color coding is more complex than depicted in the legend, or what do the shades mean?

And it's remarkable how some minorities don't exist for the diversity directorate, e.g. Asian (non APA) Americans, and others are "second class minorites" that are subsumed into a greater pool, like the NATAM's with the APA's...

Surfcaster said...

Just watched the video. I'm guilty. One stereotype pretty quickly clicked in my mind on how many Asians are pretty smart and work hard. Clearly I was wrong.

Salty Gator said...

Is it just me or does he look strikingly like the Kim Jung Il character from Team America?

"Phwibian Sawamander?  Oh-no!  Oh no!  Oh no!  Oh hey Phwib...why you aways bweakin my baws, Phwib?"

Salty Gator said...

That first hyperlink makes me sick. Look at how much money is being flushed down the diversity toilet!  Next, look at all of the "white guys posing with black and brown faces" pictures.  Almost as bad as Barack Obama posing at Dover while the dead SEALs arrived.  You know, if they put half as much effort into their work as they do trying to look politically correct and appeasing to the Diversity Industry, we wouldn't be in the mess that we are in.

Salty Gator said...

That first hyperlink makes me sick. Look at how much money is being flushed down the diversity toilet!  Next, look at all of the "white guys posing with black and brown faces" pictures.  Almost as bad as Barack Obama posing at Dover while the dead SEALs arrived.  You know, if they put half as much effort into their work as they do trying to look politically correct and appeasing to the Diversity Industry, we wouldn't be in the mess that we are in.

Salty Gator said...

Ham, I was shocked at the audacity to print the race and gender of each member of his staff.  The only thing that matters should be name and rank.  At least, that is how we are supposed to be measured.  Guess not.

Inspector General of the Navy, call your office.

Stu said...

I actually practice "mindful exclusion" in which I dismiss certain people based upon what they say, write or publicly espouse in BS training sessions. 

MR T's Haircut said...

"As we engage in the business of "human resources" we must be careful to be "mindful" of the inadvertent harm caused by "mindless" human interaction in a diverse world."

ummm whut?

steeljawscribe said...

IOW: "Toe the e-ffing line"

steeljawscribe said...

A few quick observations - because this reminds me of all the other bad PPT presentations I have to deal with on a recurring basis (thematically and in execution):
1) 30 slides too long
2) May be mis-reading the intent of the quarterly timeline on slide 15, but are they saying that despite all the ongoing inmitiatives in the three year staging plan that the end-state will be worse than when it started in Q1FY09?  That's what the Green to yellow indicator implies...
3) Should not have associated names with ethnicity on slide 3
4) Bumpersticker all you want, it's still a quota. (slide 6)
5) (slide 23) "Accountability -  <span><span>the</span> <span>state</span> <span>of</span> <span>being</span> </span><span><span>accountable</span><span>, </span></span><span><span>liable,</span> <span>or</span> <span>answerable; </span></span><span><span>subject</span> <span>to</span> <span>the</span> <span>obligation</span> <span>to</span> <span>report,</span> <span>explain,</span> <span>or</span> <span>justify</span> <span>something;</span> <span>responsible;</span> <span>answerable"</span></span><span> ergo, the enterprise will be held responsible to report why a certain percentage of officers of a particualr ethnicity are/are not progressing along a predetermined path and make corrections accordingly?  Smacks of an implicit goal/quota setting - but all we're doing is "tageting", right?</span>
<span></span>
<span>There's more, but words and patience fail me at this point...</span>
<span>w/r, SJS</span>

Salty Gator said...

SJS:  Thanks for the NIFC-CA slide that I lifted from your website for a brief today.  You da man!

Mike M. said...

As Sal points out, this has become a business.  A big business.

Which may be the best way to cut it off.  Forget the Diversity Wars and the fact that these people are responding to a world about 30 years dead, point out the resources wasted.  What fighting power do Diversity Bullies provide to the Fleet?

Anonymous said...

glad to be of service :)   Drop me a line if there is something in particular you are looking for...
w/r, SJS

steeljawscribe said...

That was me - really don't like this JS kit thing ...

NavyCynic said...

No surprise here.  NAVAIR has been leading the Navy in reverse discrimination for years.

Anonymous said...

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/08/18/executive-order-establishing-coordinated-government-wide-initiative-prom

New Diversity Executive Order

Top cover, or something...

At least we all have our priorities straight.

Sean said...

And when you try to pin them down to "What are the facts..." you get no where....endlessly sidetracked into Diversity double talk.  The few times I have tried to pin them down to measurable facts they quickly change the subject back to what they want to talk about, especially if they feel that they are starting to lose their audience..."hey, that guy in teh corner is starting to make sense...what do you have to say to that??!!"

Doc Brown said...

I submit NAVAIR absolutely has a bias, and I'll be damned (pardon my French) if I ever do business with them.