By Dr. Edward Waldrep, US Army veteran of the War in Iraq
Clinical Psychologist for the Department of Veteran Affairs
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), like many other organizations, has dedicated significant focus and attention to the topics of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). There are various approaches to DEI and the one most strenuously promoted and advocated for within the VA has its strengths and weaknesses.
For instance, we all want to ensure that all is being done to treat all Veterans, staff, and employees fairly and justly. However, one of the concerning weaknesses of the approach taken, other than the underlying ideology, is that there has been a lack of Viewpoint Diversity. My attempt to address this during the first week of February, 2023, was met with an alarming and worrying amount of illiberalism and intolerance.
There are regular meetings that occur across the VA and I join when I am able to. There is a Monthly Psychology Call that is open to all psychologists across the VA. During the DEI portion, there was a mention of different presentations on DEI and I inquired if there would be one for Viewpoint Diversity.
Toward the end of the meeting, the presenter responded positively and stated that there would be a range of presentations. I thanked her and noted that I have been tracking Heterodox Academy and would enjoy seeing something along those lines.
My comment caught the attention of some colleagues who reached out to me noting that they were glad to see my statements. It turns out, I have not been the only one who felt as if the environment in Veteran Affairs Mental Health has been an environment characterized by ideological conformity. There has been a fear and trepidation to make simple or curious comments such as “maybe we can look at the evidence and data”.
In my experience, these suggestions or Socratic questions can elicit accusations, frivolous complaints, claims of lack of sensitivity, and ostracization. Of great concern is that this has come from mental health professionals in the VA.
I was elated to know that others shared similar concerns and saw a need for such important conversations. After some brief brainstorming, one suggestion was to create a SharePoint which is an internet resource in the VA for various topic areas. The material was plug and play and did not take much time to drag and drop some articles as well as add a couple of links.
All of the contents were from reputable sources. There were links for organizations such as Heterodox Academy and Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, and two that were not peer-reviewed articles but also from reputable sources with one related to Implicit Bias and Victimhood Mentality.
The peer-reviewed articles included topics such as microaggressions, critiques and responses, political diversity, implicit bias, ideological bias, the replication crisis in psychology, the ethics of illiberal acts, and a few others. After setting this up, I shared it with a few friends and colleagues who noted that, after a quick examination, it appeared to be generally “ok”.
That is when I decided to seek broader feedback. It was one week after the national meeting and the chat was not being used at the time for a regular presentation so I decided to kindly present the SharePoint and seek feedback from anyone who may have time to check it out.
That is when the wheels came off! . . . .
. . . . The fact that there were so many dedicated professionals who also recognize the Orwellian environment, coupled with the realistic concern of speaking up publicly, was quite a concerning observation. How can this be the case that the largest health care provider in America, the VA, be so ideologically captured that this could be the case? . . . . .
. . . . Concerns about the ideological and political nature of Critical Social Justice (SCJ), censorship, and ethics violations by DEI committed psychologists have been brought to leadership and, to the best of my knowledge, dismissed or ignored.
These concerns have been raised to all levels of leadership, from immediate supervisors, ethics consultation, equal opportunity, and all the way up to the Secretary of the VA. It would appear that this may be the official position of the VA at this time.
The DEI application should be based on cultural Marxism, and all white Veterans should be seen through the lens as oppressors. All non-white, or minority, Veterans should be seen through that lens as victims that lack agency to act in their own best interest and bring about meaningful outcomes.
This is what our DEI programs are promoting, what our interns and postdoctoral fellows are being taught, and what leadership, via their silence, appears to endorse.
I openly reject Psychological Lysenkoism and all forms of Marxism. There are better ways to achieve progress that include respecting the universal humanity, integrity, culture, and individual dignity of all Veterans.
We do not need to impose the most pernicious and destructive ideology in the history of mankind. It is guaranteed not to work and there are 100 million casualties laid at the feet of this ideology in evidence.
I have personally seen VA supervisors provide materials to trainees that have a hierarchy of oppression with “straight, white, able-bodied, Christian males” at the top with everyone else listed below. This is otherwise referred to as “intersectionality”.
I have been told by providers in other places that mental health professionals have stated, “I could not work with a white conservative”. This is just open racism, bigotry, and is antithetical to sound, ethical clinical orientation.
I will ask my brothers and sisters in arms to discuss with their VA providers if they have adopted this ideology.
If a white Veteran is seeking treatment, are they being seen in a negative light due to the color of their skin? If a Veteran is not white, are there multicultural assumptions being made, rather than being explored, and are they being seen as inherently a victim without agency? . . . . (read all on Critical Therapy Antidote)
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