My intern Audra Jackson led Democratic Interns in their own selfie 2day showing #DemInternDiversity #DemInternSelfie pic.twitter.com/83UcIOKS5s
— US Rep E.B.Johnson (@RepEBJ) July 19, 2016
Following the outrage surrounding House Speaker Paul Ryan for daring to take a selfie with mostly white Republican interns, Democrats couldn’t resist taking an intern photo of their own to one-up the other side.
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) is the proud boss of two interns who took selfies to show off their #DemInternDiversity and #Diversity.
The posts got plenty of praise on Johnson’s Twitter for how representative they were of America, as many also gushed at the chance to criticize Republicans.
Not all on Facebook were pleased about this game of competing interns, however. Much of the criticism also came from young people and minorities.
Other posts criticized the picture for being “a ‘live’ photo shop” since black interns were in the front and whites in the back, and mentioned that there aren’t black interns because they don’t apply for positions with Republican representatives.
As Facebook user Charles W. Sossou points out, it’s more worthwhile to hire someone based on their qualifications, rather than the color of their skin. In a meritocracy, race shouldn’t be what gets someone selected, or at least it shouldn’t matter so much.
The proud posting of the #DemInternSelfie also grossly simplifies diversity. Who is to say that the Republican interns aren’t diverse in other ways, based on gender, sexual orientation, or religion? There were plenty of young women in the photo with Ryan, and the other two characteristics cannot be determined by appearance.
Speaker Ryan was trying to have some fun with his interns, forgetting that if you’re Republican and white, the left will be all too eager to find an excuse to dole out punishment.
