Written by T. Logan Dayne
“The only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination.
The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination.
The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.”
-Ibram X. Kendi
This is what the term ‘equity’ has come to mean in the realm of politics. In many aspects of life, social, political, and personal, there has been an ideological driven push in the name of equity. A collectivist dogma has gripped some of the highest institutions in the United States and one of the driving engines comes in the name Critical Race Theory (CRT). This term has become semantically overloaded with many definitions being used, changed, and applied giving those who want to apply it deniability and a lack of culpability in what is a push for radical change. For this column, it is defined as such, a dogmatic movement “based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour.” (Encyclopedia Britannica) This movement based on Marxist theory, namely that of dividing groups of people into “Oppressors” and “Oppressed” and that all human relations can be attributed to “power struggles” regardless of individual choices or responsibility, is the underpinning of this movement. It posits that all disparities of outcome are attributed to power differences and that if there is a disparity it must be because of some discrimination, whether that be sexism, racism, or some other -ism. Nevermind individual choices or that “causation does not equal correlation.” Real science takes a backseat to this religion.
With this framework and these definitions, it is clear to see how deeply entrenched institutions like the American Health Association have become. On October 28th the AMA put out a 54 page document entitled “Advancing Health Equity: A Guide to Language, Narrative and Concepts”. The document itself is worth the read if only to see the insanity firsthand, all of which is written in the name of equity and “Social Justice”. Of note, one of the goals of the document is to avoid dehumanizing people, however, by focusing on treating people as part of a collective, rather than as individuals, it does just that. The primary objective is to change the language used, even going as far to say that terms like “high-risk”, “tackle”, and “combat” should be avoided, and gives a list of “acceptable” terms that health professionals are to use. It may claim to be in the name of equity, but the intention of the document is to instruct workers on how to label and classify people, with emphasis on things like “antiracism” (see above) and a heavy, negative connotation on free-markets, private property, and individual liberty. This is the implementation of the theories put forth by CRT and although it is being resisted on local levels as parents fight to have their kids indoctrinated on how “oppressive”, “entitled”, or “privileged” they are, absolving this from the highest institutions will continue to be a challenge as this ideology runs deep.
Photo Cred: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
