DEI Trainings Led People To Agree With Hitler Quotes: STUDY

A massive new study was released this month on the effect that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) training programs had on individual perceptions and behavior. And in a completely unsurprising turn of events, the results were almost entirely negative.

As the study authors write, their research was devised to examine how people react to “diversity training” programs and books from DEI advocates like Ibram Kendi.

“This study focused on diversity training interventions that emphasize awareness of and opposition to ‘systemic oppression,’ a trend fueled by the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement and popularized by texts such as Ibram X. Kendi’s, How to Be an Antiracist.”

Instead of encouraging empathy, tolerance and less racism, DEI trainings pushed individuals across all groups into inaccurately identifying prejudice and “hostility,” even when none was present. Then reacting to that fake racism with anger and vitriol. 

“Across all groupings, instead of reducing bias, they engendered a hostile attribution bias, amplifying perceptions of prejudicial hostility where none was present, and punitive responses to the imaginary prejudice.”

Sounds about right.

ESPN partnered with Ibram X. Kendi to produce “Skin in the Game” but then did everything they could to hide it. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for MVAAFF)

DEI Trainings Led To Agreement With Extremist Dictators

To test the level of harm created by Kendi and other DEI “experts” like Robin DiAngelo, the researchers created a neutral text about U.S. corn production, and randomized participants to read it or a DEI essay.

“Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one exposed to a neutral control essay about U.S. corn production and the other exposed to an essay which combined educational texts from prominent DEI scholars, Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo.”

Afterwards, the same groups were shown a completely neutral text about college admissions that read: “A student applied to an elite East Coast university in Fall 2024. During the application process, he was interviewed by an admissions officer. Ultimately, the student’s application was rejected.”

Sure enough, the group that read the combined essay from Kendi and DiAngelo was significantly more likely to believe that racism had played a part in the hypothetical student’s rejection. Even though the sentence never mentioned any details that would be indicative of racism.

Those who read the DEI text were also significantly more likely to want to punish the admissions officer, even though, once again, there was no racism in the sentence. 

When the researchers conducted an experiment on the Hindu caste system, the extremism of DEI training actually led respondents to agree with slightly altered quotes from Adolf Hitler. 

“Similarly, the caste study revealed a significant increase in agreement with demonizing statements adapted from Adolf Hitler’s quotes, where the term “Jew” was replaced with ‘Brahmin,’ a group often depicted as oppressors in caste narratives. Participants exposed to the DEI content were markedly more likely to endorse Hitler’s demonization statements, agreeing that Brahmins are ‘parasites’ (+35.4%), ‘viruses’ (+33.8%), and ‘the devil personified’ (+27.1%). These findings suggest that exposure to anti-oppressive narratives can increase the endorsement of the type of demonization and scapegoating characteristic of authoritarianism.”

These results are stunning, if not entirely unexpected. Instead of creating tolerance, acceptance and agreeable traits, DEI training and authors like Kendi and DiAngelo create hostility, disagreement and demonization. Because instead of instructing readers to treat people fairly, equally and with respect, they create a victim/oppressor ideology. One that’s played out in how far left rich white college students have acted towards the Israel/Hamas conflict. 

It’s harmful, malicious work that deserves to be treated with scorn and contempt. Hopefully, this study is the first step in doing so.