Signalgate is a consequence of anti-DEI hysteria

Lloyd Austin, the former defense secretary and a four-star general with 40 years of military experience, was nonetheless labeled a DEI hire of the Biden administration. What Signalgate, the recent scandal involving the Trump administration discussing war plans in a text thread with a journalist mistakenly added to the conversation, made abundantly clear is that the only qualification for Hegseth is that he was what Mishel Williams calls WEI: white, entitled and incompetent. Rather than accept that affirmative action and DEI initiatives address the systemic racist practices and policies of the past that prevent African Americans and other historically oppressed and underrepresented groups from gaining access to positions they are qualified for, many white individuals believe that only they are capable of holding positions and occupying spaces of power, privilege and authority. And yet, many white people are so convinced that Black people and other people of color are wholly unqualified to lead, specifically those who don’t think like or act like them. We need your help to stay independent Subscribe today to support Salon's progressive journalism It’s likely that before anything changes for the better in a second Trump administration, white people, particularly the MAGA base, will need to experience some discomfort.