DEI lessons from Italian-American grit, not victimhood
DEI tells the marginalized they need saving. Italian-Americans proved grit, not grievance, builds success. Here’s why their story matters.
Some of my ancestors were poor, unskilled Italians who came to America with nothing but a name, a work ethic, and a desire to build a better life. Some were probably spit on, called slurs, and stereotyped as criminals. But they climbed. And they did it without DEI initiatives, corporate-sponsored empathy, or state handouts.
That’s a story worth telling. So why don’t we hear it?
Why, in today’s America, where the DEI industrial complex runs our schools, corporations, and media, aren’t Italian-Americans held up as a model for what it means to overcome adversity?
Because it blows up the entire narrative.
Italians faced real discrimination then overcame it
Let’s be clear: Italians were once considered non-white by the Anglo elite. They were:
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Lynched in New Orleans in 1891—the largest mass lynching in U.S. history.
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Labeled as genetically inferior “Southern Europeans.”
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Suspected of anarchism, criminality, and disloyalty.
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Targeted during WWII as “enemy aliens,” rounded up and surveilled.
And yet, despite this hostility, they built:
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Thriving neighborhoods like Boston’s North End or NYC’s Little Italy.
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Multi-generational family businesses.
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Cultural institutions that shaped American food, music, film, and fashion.
Not because the government stepped in to “fix history,” but because they refused to be victims. Ditto for my own ancestors, from Luigi Calderone (1877-1944) and downward.
DEI tells you you’re helpless without a savior
What is DEI really telling marginalized groups today?
“You’ll never make it unless we rig the game for you.”
That’s the message behind every quota, buzzword, forced apology video, and HR workshop. It masquerades as empowerment, but it quietly says:
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“Merit doesn’t matter.”
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“You can’t compete.”
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“You need us to succeed.”
That’s not inclusion. That’s infantilization. It was never about lifting people up. Instead, it’s about controlling them.
Cultural Marxism needs you to stay angry and helpless
DEI didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s rooted in Cultural Marxism, a poisonous ideology that sees every relationship as oppressor vs. oppressed. There are no individuals. No nuance. Only “power structures.”
So why would they ever highlight Italians, Jews, Asians, or Nigerians? Groups that faced hardship but didn’t cling to victimhood?
Because those groups succeeded without Cultural Marxism. And if others realize that, the whole multi-billion-dollar DEI industry collapses.
Why the Italian example matters more than ever
If you’re black, Hispanic, Asian, poor, or just tired of being told you’ll never make it, here’s what the Italian experience teaches:
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You don’t need state-sponsored pity. You need family, grit, and belief in yourself.
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You don’t have to erase your culture to rise, but you do have to outwork everyone.
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You don’t need representation handed to you. You earn it.
Italians weren’t perfect, but they were proud. And they turned their pain into progress. Not political leverage.
The system was against Italians, but they didn’t wait for permission
My ancestors didn’t have DEI consultants walking them through workplace grievances. They didn’t get scholarships for being Italian. They worked, fought, built, and won.
And they proved this:
You don’t need a seat at the table when you know how to build your own damn table.
If the DEI crowd really cared about uplifting the marginalized, they’d stop pushing resentment and start teaching the Italian playbook.
Because it works.
Want to learn more about a kick-ass Italian-American who also has dashes of Scandinavian running through his veins? Quinn Cozens, the protagonist in my survival thriller, Beyond the Lost, is a fine example. Meet Quinn and the K-pop idol he’s thrust into the ultimate survival situation with, Yui Kikuchi.
