Pam Bloom writes a rebuttal to the My Turn, “Dr. King and DEI.” Not all opinions are created equal, even my own. Ignoring the difference becomes a complicit form of accepting the unacceptable. After all, it’s not the 1950s and if you weren’t white, they weren’t that great.”

I’m tired. I’m tired of the divisiveness and continuing politicizing of important issues perpetuated in columns like 1/11/24’s My Turn column, “Dr. King and DEI.”

That a white woman of my generation (the ’50s) would cherry pick a quote from the internet and assume it gives her a right to presume that Dr. Martin Luther King would be marching by her side as she protests Critical Race Theory, (CRT) and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) brings an old Southern saying to mind.

“Bless her heart.”

I can’t complete the rest of that common Southern sentiment. The next line out of my mouth as a woman born and raised locally would normally be something like, “hmmm…. she probably means well” as if it’s OK to excuse and accept that all opinions deserve to be taken seriously.

Rather than try to rebuttal the above mentioned “My Turn,” with my personal opinion, I bow to the accompanying opinion column, “DEI efforts in higher education deserve your support,’’ an opinion piece with an author who backs their opinion with factual information and expertise. Not all opinions are created equal, even my own. Ignoring the difference becomes a complicit form of accepting the unacceptable. After all, it’s not the 1950s and if you weren’t white, they weren’t that great.

https://www.salisburypost.com/2024/01/11/my-turn-renee-c-scheidt-dr-king-and-dei/

https://www.salisburypost.com/2024/01/11/mathew-gendle-dei-efforts-in-higher-education-deserve-your-support/

Pam Bloom