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Background
Walter Benn Michaels’s main argument is that a fallacy has successfully managed to distract people from identifying the real problem facing the contemporary United States. The author postulates that it is unfortunate that people have paid much attention to unnecessary issues, particularly the heightened concern for diversity. He suggests that instead of helping make things better for American citizens, the focus on diversity distracts people from realizing the real menace within the United States in economic disparity. The author uses vivid analogies to elaborate his point by explaining that there is only one difference between the rich and the poor: money. Walter explained that a poor person could improve his situation and become rich, meaning that poverty is not a permanent condition in life. He says this to correct people who think that rich people are better than poor people because it is only material possession that separates these two categories of people.
On that note, Walter claims that the belief that rich people are better than the poor stems from classism. Being poor is not the problem that people should focus on but rather the causes of poverty. In the United States, the vast majority consider themselves middle class, while in a real sense, the categorization of wealth distribution in the United States is more generic than people assume. In reality, the wealth disparity in the United States continues to increase, and yet American society focuses on diversity as a solution instead of dealing with the real threat in context. In simple terms, the author of this article is emphatic on the point that diversity is used as a solution to resolve the current systemic prejudice in society but exacerbates the problem. The real issue that people advocate for equal treatment through diversity is that one party feels it lacks something. Unfortunately, societies focus on issues such as race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and ethnicity. However, there is a considerably high chance that individuals from all these demographic groups would not need any special assistance if they had financial stability.
For instance, affirmative action was developed to ensure that U.S institutions ensure that individuals from demographic groups faced some discrimination in the past. As a result, employees currently focus on ensuring that they hire people from all these groups to prove how diverse they are as an institution. Similarly, Ivy-league institutions of higher learning do the same, so now schools concentrate on ensuring a good number of people of color in their admissions. In the author’s precise words, “We’re getting to the point where there are more black people than poor people in elite universities (even though there are still precious few black people)” (Walter 3). Unfortunately, most students who secure positions in such top-tier schools come from rich families despite their race.
Nature of the Claim
Walter’s argument is factual as it can be backed with actual evidence about the contemporary United States. An excellent quote from the text to prove this point is, “You get bigger crowds, a much livelier party, and a much stronger sense of solidarity for Gay Pride Day. But Gay Pride Day isn’t about economic equality, and celebrating diversity shouldn’t be an acceptable alternative to seeking economic equality” (Walter 4). The author compares the rate of enthusiasm among Americans during Labor Day versus Gay Pride Day. The former discusses promoting economic equality in the United States, while the latter does not. Another factual quotation about U.S. society is, “No issue of social justice hangs on appreciating hair color diversity; no issue of social justice hangs on appreciating racial or cultural diversity” (Walter 4). It seems rather irrational that Americans should pay all attention to differences in skin color while it is a natural phenomenon, just like how people have different hair types, but that has never been a point of concern. If anything, diversity has made people more aware of their identity as it commenced with issues about race, and now it has spread to medical health, sexual orientation, culture, and religion, among others. The author makes this point clear by stating, “And the kinds of solutions that might actually make a difference — financing every school district equally, abolishing private schools, making high-quality child care available to every family — are treated as if they were positively un-American”(Walter 4). Therefore, diversity is depicted as a façade that has made Americans obsessed with issues of identity and inclusivity yet oblivious to the existence of a huge economic gap.
The Way the Author’s Logos Supports the Claim
The author’s logos to support his claim is based on the statement that no person is better than another because of their skin color, disability, culture, or disability. Therefore, it would be wrong to assume that people who are black may want to change their complexion or that a deaf person would want to hear. God created us in different forms; the only problem in context is how people handle such situations. It is people’s attitudes towards each other that are wrong. The absolute force that makes us unequal in the U.S. is a financial endowment. The text by Walter is an eye-opener to readers because it has helped put issues of prejudice in America into perspective.
Omitted Counterargument
Through the text, Walter fails to acknowledge that diverse representation has some advantages. People from different backgrounds have unique experiences, which could help brainstorm ideas to come up with smart solutions. Furthermore, embracing diversity may also help to unveil some of the systemic intricacies that cause inequality.
Work Cited
Walter, Michaels. The Trouble with Diversity: How We Learned to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality.Pdf. Metropolitan Books, 2006.
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