By Hadi Brenjekjy

I recently answered a Quora question about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. 

I wrote:

“DEI shouldn’t be a 2 hour workshop that makes people feel either guilty, bored, or confused. It should be a change in how we see one another, a human upgrade… If your DEI training is not making people laugh, reflect, and ask deep questions, then it’s just wallpaper.”

That post gained traction, but it also triggered a response. A very charged one:

“Works out well for you, migrants and people we don’t care for, doesn’t it? As hard as people like you, the globalist right, the internationalist left argue otherwise, life is a zero-sum game… I’ll never forgive the older generations for selling my birthright to the failed world…”

Let’s look at what just happened

This sounds like a grief. This comment didn’t come from logic. It came from fear. From identity crisis. From feeling left behind in a fast world.

Why Some People React Like This:

1. Fear of losing status, when historically dominant groups see others gaining access, they interpret it as their decline. It feels like DEI is taking something away from them. And that is a scarcity mindset, not reality.

2. Identity crisis meets economic anxiety, how? If you have been told your whole life that this country is “yours” and then suddenly it’s more diverse, collaborative, and inclusive? That can feel like whiplash.

3. Life or success is not a pie. More slices don’t mean yours gets smaller. But that’s not how fear-based narratives work. They tell people: If others rise, you fall.

4. Lack of real exposure, It’s easy to hate what you don’t know. If your idea of diversity comes from headlines, not humans, then stereotypes are your only reference.

What Do Terms Like “Globalist Right” and “Internationalist Left” Even Mean?

Short answer: They are made-up punching bags.

Globalist Right = Capitalism Without Borders, But Keep the Borders

This term is usually used to insult other conservatives who support:

• Free trade 
• Open markets
• Global finance
• Multinational corporations
• Immigration if it benefits the economy
   

Internationalist Left = Solidarity With All Humans, Not Just Your Country

This one’s a classic, at progressives who believe in:

• Refugee rights
• Human rights across borders
• Global climate justice
• Worker solidarity internationally
• Anti-colonial movements
• Peacebuilding and anti-war stances
   

So When Someone Says Both?

They are basically like:

“Everyone – left, right, rich, poor is part of a grand conspiracy to replace me and my culture with a multicultural, borderless, corporate sponsored abaya boubou nightmare.”

The Real Issue Behind These Labels?

They are emotional smoke bombs. People use them when they:

• Feel left behind by global changes
• Can’t trust the political establishment
• Want to blame a group or movement instead of confronting complexity
• Are scrolling in a toxic algorithm of TikTok conspiracies, 9GaG racist memes, and half-read Substacks

These terms are often used by people who feel isolated by globalism, multiculturalism, and modern politics. They are looking for someone to blame. 

So, What Now?

DEI will make people uncomfortable. That’s not failure, that’s friction before growth.

If you are working in DEI or support it, know this: Not every comment deserves a debate. Some just need a pause. Because behind the hate is often hurt.

Instead of arguing, we can:

• Tell better stories.
• Create safe (not sanitized) spaces.
• Lead with curiosity over judgment.
• Build the future while others cling to the past.

What I saw in that comment was not just a disagreement about DEI. It was a grief response to a changing world.

I heard a lot of pain in what they wrote, but DEI is not about stealing someone’s birthright, it’s about ensuring no one is denied theirs.

A world where different people succeed doesn’t mean you can’t. In fact, the whole idea is to build a system where everyone rises. The fear that progress for some means decline for others? That’s not human nature. That is a scarcity mindset sold by broken systems.

We can either compete for shrinking slices, or expand the table. I choose the second, because survival might be a zero-sum game, but thriving? That’s collaborative

We build anyway.