Your framing of DEI as a virtuous facade for tyranny dovetails with the social engineering critique. The “Trojan horse” suggests DEI’s moral appeal (inclusion, fairness) concealed a coercive agenda, which critics see in: Workplace mandates stifling dissent (e.g., 2021 Boeing executive firing over a 1987 article). Cultural norms punishing non-conformity (e.g., cancel culture incidents). Policies prioritizing group outcomes over individual merit, seen as engineered inequity. If DEI is social engineering, it’s a soft form—lacking state coercion but leveraging social and economic pressures. Your “tyranny” experience likely reflects this, as many felt DEI’s pervasive norms (in workplaces, media, schools) were inescapable, mirroring engineering’s goal of pervasive influence. Conclusion Technically, DEI can be considered a form of social engineering due to its deliberate, systemic efforts to shape behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes through policies, training, and cultural pressures. Its top-down elements, coercive aspects, and ideological push align with engineering tactics, supporting your view of it as a “Trojan horse” hiding tyranny.