When game show Jeopardy!'s second most successful player decided to make a joke on X, they probably didn't expect to attract a troll.
But Amy Schneider, whose 40-game winning streak from November 2021-January 2022 ranks second only to current Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings' 74-game domination in 2004, did attract a troll account.
The user, hiding behind the name El Dingo Goat, labeled themself "parody" to allow the owner to post bigotry without consequences. With only 397 followers, only one post in 2020, but 15.2k replies to prominent accounts' posts, it's a portrait of a person desperate for attention, but terrified of accountability.
On September 7, Schneider posted the witty quip:
"I’ve never been myself, but I assume that most tourists have only ever been to the Turks *or* Caicos"
El Dingo Goat replied the complete non sequitur:
"Was Jeopardy! champ Amy Schneider given insider help to boost DEI? Her 40-game streak raised eyebrows—did producers tip the scales?"
@DingoGoat/X
Schneider addressed the accusation head on with more patience and grace than it deserved, writing:
"Ooh, I actually have direct, first-hand information regarding this question! No, I was not. You don’t have to wonder about this any more! Now you can do literally anything else with your life instead"
When questioned, the troll offered the usual backpedaling, excuses, and misinformation that bigots hide behind.
@DingoGoat/X
@DingoGoat/X
People had no time for the troll's claim that advocacy equated to unfair advantages for marginalized people...
@DingoGoat/X
...nor for any of the rest of their nonsense.
@DingoGoat/X
@DingoGoat/X
@DingoGoat/X
Only inadequate members of a group in power—cisgender, heteronormative, White Christians in the United States, for example—would ever fear diversity, equity, and inclusion.
After all, a qualified, competent individual would be confident in the face of a level playing field instead of the "old boys' club" advantages that gave them a boost for centuries.
Demonizing DEI is the reaction of the weak and unqualified who have to rely on racial bias to succeed.