This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.
The outpouring of protest following the death of George Floyd last year made it painfully obvious that we are far from the postracial dream of not long ago. Those intense divisions have moved from the streets to the classrooms, as half the states have passed or are considering legislation restricting the study of critical race theory. With Governor Doug Burgum’s signature, North Dakota becomes the latest state to ban CRT in public schools. Conservative leadership has made the issue into a cause célèbre for the Republican Party and the culprit for contemporary disharmony. Teaching the centrality of race in U.S. history, they say, foments hatred of America. Structural racism is a thing of the past, they argue. Contrary to what liberals conjure, America is a just and meritorious country.
Minorities won’t get a break from all the bullshit they deal with until they outnumber whites in the populace about 2 to 1, but probably more. I can see whites managing to hold on to power and their bigoted, oppressive ways despite only comprising a 3rd of the people in the nation.
THIS, this right here, is the reason why ‘legislators’ shouldn’t stick their ignorant noses into what is ‘taught’ in school. They can’t even do the damn HOMEWORK that it takes to show that CRT is NOT being taught and didn’t NEED to be ‘banned’. Idiots.
From story: “Thus, Elvis fell into the rock category, whereas Chuck Berry became an R & B celeb.” I know it’s a nitpick, but Berry was a rock star. Many black artists of the 1950s were heard on Top 40 radio. Other than this little thing, a fine article.
As the child of immigrants, our family was not directly involved with slavery. That does not mean it never happened nor does it mean that, as white people, we aren’t beneficiaries of that history however indirectly. Further, although many immigrants have come to the US to escape war, poverty, religious persecution, and disease, it does not relieve them of the responsibility of understanding the underpinnings of their adopted country or of contributing to its welfare. And as they were allowed to flourish here, so others, irrespective of skin color or country of origin, should have that same right.
I have to admit that I am completely flummoxed by the antipathy to teaching and learning about our history, including the not so pretty parts. That’s some seriously thin skin, right there.
I used to be an active commenter on Washington Monthly’s Political Animal blog (before the site changed its policies). On one thread, a regular commenter (I believe it was ‘Chrissa’) posted a comment that there were 2 groups in American society that would never be allowed to become ‘White’ in the socioeconomic meaning of the term: Blacks and Native Americans. At first I thought it was a really strange comment, but I gradually came to the conclusion that she was probably correct as both groups serve as painful reminders of America’s 2 ‘original sins’: slavery and the near-genocide of the Native American population.{Edited for typos}
They are being forward thinking and proactive. It’s much more time and cost efficient to ban the teaching of CRT than to remediate the effects of liberal brainwashing and white shaming. Rejecting the imagined perfection of Reagan’s “shining city upon a hill” would also be a rejection of our divine right to rule the world. USA! USA! world without fault, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.
ETA: TPM doesn’t like the end snark tag. Go figure.
Until the embargo of SA they had a lot of help from all over the world because of diamonds. Even after that countries supplied them with weapons and armaments of control and fear. Israel is a prime and very paradoxical example.
The world is a funny place. When I lived in Israel I travelled to several neighbouring countries but one; Lebanon. I wanted to for several reasons and I also had a letter of intro to someone influential there and phone number. When I first got to Haifa I decided to call that person but couldn’t get through. I tried several times over a course of a week. I found out later, by way of an Haaretz article that the Israelis cut off service just then. More interestingly though is that the Israeli and Lebanese banks were still doing business despite the ongoing declaration of war.
That was a huge lesson on the reality of the world, politics, power etc etc etc
Much like the hysteria about “sharia law,” the majority of these opponents could not even define “critical race theory.” They just know that their propaganda masters at FOX and other outlets have told them it’s bad. Even, as others have pointed out, no such thing is being taught in the schools. Interesting article with lots of food for thought.
