Forced diversity is NOT diversity. It’s usually racism.
Current member and former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) got all preachy to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday during a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees, where he basically demanded that Facebook and other tech giants do more for the inclusion of black people in the tech field.
Butterfield began his time with Zuckerberg by issuing a veiled threat before he got to the actual motive during his line of questions.
“In my opinion, Facebook is here to stay, and so you have an obligation to protect the data that you collect and the data that you use,” Butterfield said before issuing his threat. “Congress has the power to regulate your industry, and we have the power to penalize misconduct.”
Butterfield’s comments might not seem like much, but then he got to his point of the veiled threat — to force tech companies to hire more black people.
Here’s Butterfield’s forced diversity question (Keep reading. He’ll get around to it):
Let me ask you this. The Congressional Black Caucus has been very focused on holding your industry accountable — not just Facebook — your industry accountable for increasing African-American inclusion at all levels of the industry. I know you have a number of diversity initiatives. In 2017, you’ve increased your black representation from two to three percent. While this is a small increase, it’s better than none. This does not nearly meet the definition of building a racially diverse community.
CEO leadership — and I’ve found this to be absolutely true — CEO leadership on issues of diversity is the only way that the technology industry will change.
Will you commit, sir, to personally convene a meeting of CEOs in your sector — all of them perhaps are your friends — to do this very quickly to develop a strategy to increase racial diversity in the technology industry?
Here's video of the exchange between Butterfield and Zuckerberg:
So the Congressional Black Caucus is “focused on holding” the tech industry accountable to dramatically increase the number of black people in that field?
This is essentially blackmail (no pun intended). What Butterfield means by all of this is that if tech companies don’t begin hiring more black people — regardless of their qualifications — the Congressional Black Caucus will come down on them for other non-racial issues.
If a person of any color is the most qualified for the available position within any company, they should get the job. But, if anyone is less qualified than someone else vying for the position, they shouldn’t get the job. It’s that easy.
Forcing the issue on a company is a fascistic tactic — one not lost on the Left side of the fence.
By Butterfield — and the rest of the Congressional Black Caucus — demanding that tech companies hire more black people, are they also saying that if they don’t say anything a black person couldn’t get those jobs? That’s kinda racist.
Does the Congressional Black Caucus really believe that those working in Silicon Valley aren’t doing everything they can to promote a progressive agenda? Zuckerberg himself admitted during Tuesday’s portion of Zuckerberg’s hearing that Silicon Valley is an “extremely Left-leaning place.”
California progressives in Silicon Valley would be more than happy to help out the Congressional Black Caucus in their quest for diversity. But, people of any color who constantly cry racism and push for forced diversity are never satisfied.
Just another case of “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
H/T: Washington Examiner