Anti-Othering Policies
Special Note regarding the Foundation’s prohibition on “othering activities.” Decisions regarding grant distributions and the investment of assets are made at the sole discretion of Diamond Mind Foundation in furtherance of its charitable and educational mission.
Specifically, the Foundation prohibits any support of organizations engaged in “othering activities,” defined as policies or activities that collectively punish, diminish, demonize, or negatively characterize all members of an ethnic/DNA, religious, regional, or national group for any reason. Othering takes two forms: classic and overgeneralization.
Classic Othering – Classic Othering often takes a recognizable format. It uses assertions such as that All X are Y. Example: Asians are obedient. Blacks are oppressed. Whites are racist. Jews are guilty. Christians are delusional. Roma are thieves. (Insert any ethnic, religious, or national group) are (insert any negative or stereotypical connotation). This prohibition includes but is not limited to othering normalized by recent Ivy League academic theories that justify such behavior based on perceived power. Our prohibition against supporting this behavior applies to all groups, whether in the majority or minority or powerful or marginalized.
Over Generalization Othering – As an organization committed to free speech, we prohibit supporting organizations from “overgeneralizing othering “to shut down speech. Generalization othering conflates criticism of the behavior of a specific or small subgroup with bigotry against the entire ethnic, religious, or national sub-group with the larger group, regardless of whether the criticism is righteous or unrighteous. Examples. A person or organization is condemned for “bigotry” because they speak in opposition to the Italian mafia (a righteous act). The condemnation is an attempt to shut down this criticism by conflating criticism or admiration of the actions of a subgroup with bigotry against the whole – in this example, all Italians. Another example. A person or organization is condemned as “anti-Christian” because they condemn self-proclaimed Christians protesting at the funeral of someone who died of aids (unrighteous act). Overgeneralization of othering is inaccurate and disingenuous and a threat to free speech.
Our foundation does not support organizations that aggressively target an individual or group based on any reason related to immutable characteristics- including the immutable characteristics, including that of the sub-group perceived to be powerful or in the majority. Our free speech perspective on public discourse is that admonishing the behavior of others is healthy when done respectfully. Done with grace, it can be both societally positive and acceptable. Attacks on character are almost always societally harmful and unacceptable.
These activities and others we deem similar contradict the Foundation’s mission and charitable status. Diamond Mind Foundation will not accept funds from donors or make contributions to grantees that the Foundation believes, in its sole discretion, intend to support or engage in othering activities, whether online or offline.
Diamond Mind Foundation will implement this policy through due diligence to ensure that other activities are identified and steps are taken to avoid any Foundation support for them. As part of its review, the Foundation will never consult or use as a resource organizations such as Southern Poverty Law Center, Change the Terms, Color of Change, and GLAAD as, in our view, these organizations are themselves engaging in unacceptable othering of both kinds.