Recently, one of the journalists on the Rugby League panel show, NRL 360, almost hit the nail on the head. He said, “I don’t want to say that diversity and equality are mutually exclusive. But there is not much overlap between those ideas.”

I was surprised a Fox Sports journalist would say this on a live broadcast. But he hedged his bets a little bit. This needs to be stated stronger: diversity and equality are mutually exclusive. They are antonyms, they are exact opposites. Diversity means different and equal means the same. 

So, not only are they mutually exclusive but the fact that the very first inclusive football game ever in NRL history excluded seven players (it’s actually more so because some reserve grade players also said ‘no’ to playing) highlights this with a massive exclamation mark. Diversity and equality cannot co-exist. 

The quest for diversity and equality is a quest to exclude those who don’t fit these two boxes – which at some point will be everybody. This is why one of the ancient symbols of evil is a snake that consumes itself. That is all that evil can do.

The quest for these goals is evil. It will eventually take down its own biggest advocates when they are found to be not diverse enough or equal enough. This is inevitable. Because equality is an absolute, it cannot rest with “close-enough”. What’s more, diversity comes from the same root word as division. As diversity increases so does division and conflict. So, the quest for these two things is only able to lead to conflict. 

I welcome this happening because it will drive home how foolish our quests for diversity and equality are. Most people cannot be swayed by arguments, but being slapped around the face (metaphorically) by being banned from inclusive places will convince a lot of people. So too will the experience of the coming diversity conflicts change a lot of people’s minds. As one of the ladies at my church says, “If you won’t listen, you need to feel.”