The Jedi Problem: Why the ‘JEDI’ Acronym for Social Justice Isn’t Saving Anyone (As Written by a Senior Fellow at The Manhattan Institute).

In the Spring issue of City Journal, James Meigs discusses how Scientific American has shifted its focus towards social justice topics. The magazine has been publishing articles that tackle issues such as “Modern Mathematics Confronts Its White, Patriarchal Past” and “The Racist Roots of Fighting Obesity”. However, in 2021, SciAm published an opinion essay titled “Why the Term ‘JEDI’ Is Problematic for Describing Programs That Promote Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.”

The article criticized the expansion of the DEI acronym to include “Justice” and argued that the Jedi knights from Star Wars were inappropriate mascots for social justice. The authors suggested that the Jedi knights were prone to white saviorism and toxic masculinity approaches to conflict resolution. They used violent duels with phallic light sabers and gaslighting with “Jedi mind tricks” as examples of these traits.

James B. Meigs wrote this piece as a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor for City Journal. He is also the cohost of the How Do We Fix It? podcast and the former editor of Popular Mechanics. The content was originally published in The Wall Street Journal (paywall), with a photo taken by Andrew Brookes/Getty Images accompanying it.