S5 E15 | Decolonization: Erasure or Diversity?

In 2022 Counterweight, the organization that Helen Pluckrose founded and that was absorbed into the Institute for Liberal Values had a virtual conference on Alternatives to Diversity and Inclusion. Starting in 2025, we will be rolling out one talk a month that was presented at the conference. We sit down with the original presenters throughout 2025 to see what has changed since 2022. With Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives seemingly on the chopping block, we are curious to hear what our original participants are witnessing and experiencing on the ground. Is DEI really dead or just in remission? Are there healthy alternatives to DEI that we should consider, or do we throw the baby out with the bathwater and wipe our hands clean? What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.

This month Jennifer Richmond interviews Brandy Shufutinsky.  In the update to her original talk on Liberal Approaches to Diversity and Inclusion, where she highlighted anti-black racism and antisemitism and the ties between the two, we explore what has changed since 2022, especially in light of the Oct 7 2023 massacre of Israeli citizens and the current conversations around Israel and Palestine. The “Global Intifada” is a strange marriage of Islamist and left-wing extremism, often called the red-green coalition. While it is often easy to spot extreme right-wing antisemitism, the red-green version of antisemitism is often unacknowledged. This does not result in the proliferation of diversity and inclusion but rather an erasure of history and the erosion of common values.

Podcast Notes:

A Woke Right Keeps the Pendulum Swinging, Dmitri Shufutinsky https://whiterosemagazine.com/a-woke-right-keeps-the-pendulum-swinging/

Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration and the Future of White Minorities, Eric Kaufmann https://www.amazon.com/Whiteshift-Populism-Immigration-Future-Majorities/dp/1468316974

Vatican nativity scene showing baby Jesus on a keffiyeh removed after backlash https://www.timesofisrael.com/vatican-nativity-scene-showing-baby-jesus-on-a-keffiyeh-removed-after-backlash/