DEI: The Right's Main (and Very) Racist Attack on Kamala Harris

“You hear ‘DEI,’ and you probably think of your job’s HR department,” explains Kat Abughazaleh. “But for your QAnon uncle, ‘DEI’ is an activation phrase to send the most unhinged memes in the family group chat.”

In her new video for Mother Jones, Kat dives into the right’s obsessive co-opting of the term “DEI”—Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—to attack Donald Trump’s new 2024 foe, Vice President Kamala Harris:

Kat dissects how this innocuous little acronym became the latest dog whistle for Fox News hosts and elected Republicans, drawing parallels to Nixon’s Southern strategy, which also deployed coded language to appeal to old bigotry.

Earlier attempts to caricature Kamala Harris caught right-wing pundits somewhat flat-footed when compared to their other misogynistic masterpiece: their attacks on Hillary Clinton (a phenomenon documented by Kat in her first video for Mother Jones). But in the days since Harris locked up enough delegates to be the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee, talking heads have filled the airwaves with what is now considered a three-letter epithet, twisted by figures like Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk to mean people who got jobs even though they are talentless and incompetent, especially from minority groups.

Harris is their new prime example.

“Because, sure,” explains Kat. “You can hold six elected offices, you can have an entire law career before that, you can even be the Vice President of the United States, but if you just add those three little letters, DEI, it is instantly invalidated by the assertion that every single one of your accomplishments is because of how society treats your race and gender rather than despite it.”

With DEI being used as a scapegoat term for societal issues, from bridge disasters to aviation policy failures, the pundits have found their term d’art and appear to be sticking with it.

“Now it’s in the hands of right-wing assholes,” Kat jokes. “So like Pepe the Frog, fedoras, and the okay symbol, these losers have perverted another innocuous thing.”

#KamalaHarris #DEI #FoxNews #RightWingMedia

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[Applemangh]

They've got a lot of nerve claiming someone is unqualified because of DEI when project 2025 will literally let them replace qualified civil servants with loyal "yes men".

[donsmith-lwqd]

If you want a huge example of people who have jobs they aren't competent enough to have look at the House and Senate.

[MilenaBlazanovic-oqiy]

She is DEI hire. Why do you have problems with it when you are support DEI!??

[WalterSpence]

You're just worried because she is not yet unburdened by what has been....because of the significance of the passage of time...

[possumofantikka]

cults do this.. its called 'loaded language'. takes the actual meaning from something and replaces it with a random emotional response. thanks

[willseth]

To a racist, everything is about race.

[xbulsara]

The real problem is IED: Inherited Everything from Daddy.

[megavolt]

Why do critics of DEI pretend that everything was based on equal opportunity and merit up until affirmative action happened? There's no logical or historical reason to believe that. White employers preferring to hire other whites including friends and family has long been the less noble preexisting counterpart of DEI. Just because it isn't official policy doesn't mean it hasn't been the status quo.

Such an implicit bias in hiring is the sad state of affairs which something like DEI seeks to rectify, and while it's not an ideal solution to fight discrimination with counter discrimination, it's all we've got until and if we ever get over racism.

[wesleyj]

If DEI is such a good thing, then why is it bad to call someone a DEI hire? You can't have it both ways.

[butterfinger]

This chick would fit right in with MSNBC, CNN or the View

[SemperSalam]

But she is a DEI hire. Not trying to be mean but she completely failed in the primaries to gain any support and then Joe specifically said he needs a VP based solely on race and gender.

[robertwoodpa]

So blacks and women can never be criticised right?

[unnamed]

I don’t like trump, or the right, but rallying behind a person like Kamala Harris for PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES is crazy!

[BobChalmers]

Biden was up front in 2020 on how he would choose his VP - not sure why you want to blame "the right" for that.

[forgotz]

love Kat and the insight she brings ❤ good job mother jones, you brought me back. more Kat (daily)

[eringo-bragh]

The Christ is the ultimate 'woke' individual, the second great commandment "Love Your Neighbor" The Christ never denigrated the downtrodden, yet my Republicans engage in this always

[lloydfurness]

This Karen is a fine example of a DEI hire failure.

[honestreviewer]

Love your content. Factual, understandable, relatable. Keep it up!

[waynegrabert]

Editing tip: If you are going to put a graphic onscreen for me to read, leave it up for longer than a fraction of a second.

[sam-yt]

Giving someone a job because of their demographic is wrong. Not giving someone a job because of their demographic is wrong. What's hard to understand? DEI is what makes both of those things happen.