Roughly within the last 24 months, we have seen the term “diversity, equity, and inclusion” emerge as a replacement to simply “diversity and inclusion” training, which in turn replaced “transparent and pointless corporate liability butt-covering seminar.” Now, there’s been another development, as I read in an almost hilariously long and absurd article about “Why the Term ‘JEDI’ Is Problematic” in Scientific American: “The acronym ‘JEDI’ has become a popular term for branding academic committees and labeling STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine) initiatives focused on social justice issues. Used in this context, JEDI stands for ‘justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.’ In recent years, this acronym has been employed by a growing number of prominent institutions and organizations, including the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.”

The supposed problem is that JEDI evokes the good guys from Star Wars, and these fictional users of Light Side space magic are actually “eugenicist” and “exclusionary” members of a “cult.” Apparently, baby Yoda is a Nazi, according to America’s oldest magazine. “Although they’re ostensibly heroes within the Star Wars universe,” we are told, “the Jedi are inappropriate symbols for justice work. They are a religious order of intergalactic police-monks, prone to (white) saviorism and toxically masculine approaches to conflict resolution (violent duels with phallic lightsabers, gaslighting by means of ‘Jedi mind tricks,’ etc.).”