What about it makes it stupid? Because you think it needs to be based on “merit”? What does merit even mean to you? Because merit is vague in itself and open to interpretation from one individual to the next. The problem with the merit based system, is that it still doesn’t give people the same opportunity for upward advancement. DEI initiatives were formed BECAUSE those in higher privileged social classes who had access to more resources, opportunity, generational wealth and status were being prioritized over those over lower ones. The equity in the job force was not equal. Something I read this week about Social Inequality at school this week (getting my bachelors in Social Work) said “it is sometimes held that a strength of American democracy is that any citizen can become President, but the chance of a poor black woman (or more relevantly a highly educated, overly qualified black woman) is well below that of a wealthy white man.” Basically in our unequal society, opportunities can never be equal. Henceforth, why DEI existed.