Originally Posted by
Dubya61
I understand your point, but I disagree somewhat. In my opinion, there are two ways to deal with diversity. 1) Ignore it, or 2) embrace it. If I read you right, you feel that embracing it is an unnecessary expense. We should celebrate success and effort and not expend any resources to celebrate any coincidental affinity not related to success and effort. I understand that, but managing humans requires much more nuance than, say, the Soviet method of population control. They had it easy, didn’t they? Long live the party! Death to anything that detracts from this most important delineation of affinity.
I think the key would be to know how people self-identify. If you find that you’re leading a group of sneetches, some with star bellies and some with plain bellies, and if those sneetches notice a difference, it wouldn't hurt to give a shout out to the star bellies and the plain bellies once in a while. If you can’t find a reason to NOT approve of that identifying feature and if the celebration of that diversifying feature doesn't cost that much, why NOT celebrate it? Its diversity that will give a place an edge over those without such diversity. What does such a celebration hurt? Are we harmed by a St. Patrick’s day celebration? Are we hurt by a Gay Pride parade? Are we hurt by an Armed Forces Day Parade? I think not. In fact, I would bet that any expenditures a city puts out in such a celebration would be paid back in sales taxes along the parade route or property taxes by people who moved in because they thought they would be welcomed there more so than in some other location that fails to celebrate such diversity.
Against better advice, I’m gonna cross threads here, and bring in a comment that may just rank in my top ten favorite OKC Talk comments. I think it pertains here.
I think OKC would be well served to recognize any minority segments of our population and point out that we’re glad to include them for the strength we gain from such diversity.
Egon Spengler: There's something very important I forgot to tell you.
Peter Venkman: What?
Spengler: Don't cross the streams.
Venkman: Why?
Spengler: It would be bad.
Venkman: I'm fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean, "bad"?
Spengler: Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.
Ray Stantz: Total protonic reversal.
Venkman: Right. That's bad. Okay. All right. Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon.
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