The Daily Fire

There was a dust-up last week in Adlandia over the topic of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. A former colleague of mine, at multiple ad agencies, began an online recruiting campaign that tweaked a few noses. 

My big oversized one included.

You see, he decided to attack the philosophy of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, and painted those words as if they were contrarian to the American Way of Life. Interestingly enough, the principles of #DEI were the very same principles cited in the GOP Post-Mortem after losing the 2012 presidential election. Again.

"We need a bigger tent and invite people of color, the LGBTQ community and young people into the party if we want any chance of returning to the White House," said the professional political GOP pollsters.

Instead, they ignored their own advice and lined up behind this nation's worst Pied Piper for White Supremacy. A mistake this country will pay for, for years to come.

But Right Wing Republicans are not very good at learning from their mistakes. And my former colleague decided to don the Brown Shirt and spout some ugly, ugly tropes about "wokeness", "cancel culture", and "identity politics." 

He further piled on with some pointed remarks about CRT, communism and other GOP crappy talking points that feel like we haven't progressed a day since 1954.

In a remarkable display of restraint, I refused to chime in. Not because I didn't want to, I did. But I wanted the freedom to do it in a longer, more fleshed out forum, where by the way, I can moderate the comments.

This former agency bigwig is now nothing short of a pariah in the ad world. For that, he only has himself to blame. I, on the other hand, consider myself an ally and proponent of DEI. 

For several reasons: I have two grown daughters in the production/agency/entertainment field. I want them to succeed beyond their dreams. And earn just as much as their male counterparts. What father of two daughters wouldn't?

Also, as a very old man...er, I'm sorry, seasoned veteran, I still have a certain expertise for creating ideas that will stand up and do the hard work of advertising. So I'm proud to take a bite out of ageism.

And finally, having familiarized myself with the racist rhetoric and rising antisemitism in this country, I'm convinced this nation needs several booster shots of CRT -- even though it is not taught in any middle, junior or high school in the country.

Last week, I caught wind of a scandal rocking Rockland County, where I grew up. Apparently the Nyack High School basketball team was visiting nearby Pearl River, where they were met by a barrage of racist and hateful remarks. By students. And perhaps, parents.

The same type of book-burning parents I see screaming at school board meetings...

"We don't want CRT being brought into our schools. They'll just be indoctrinating our kids to see people by skin color. And CRT will teach our children hate."

The part that wasn't said: "We can do that at home."

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Pointed addendum: Ben Shapiro is an intellectual lightweight.