18 votes

The fight to whitewash US history: At least fifteen states are trying to ban schools from teaching critical race theory and the 1619 Project. The reactionary movement stretches back to the 1920s.

12 comments

  1. [7]
    Akir
    Link
    I've been following right-wing talking points about this and they're incredibly aggrivating. One talking point that just drives me absolutely insane is that 'leftists' are trying to force children...

    I've been following right-wing talking points about this and they're incredibly aggrivating.

    One talking point that just drives me absolutely insane is that 'leftists' are trying to force children to learn that if they're white they should feel bad. Even if you completely ignore the extreme velosity of the spin they're putting on it, they're completely ignoring that if their children might feel bad for a few moments learning about this history they might be better equipped to understand the people who have lived through that history and are still affected by it to this day.

    Almost as frustrating as this talking point is how few of them actually understand what critical race theory actually is. If you do ask them, the only concrete fact they will tell you is that it's "Marxist", which is funny because it's so far divorced from Karl Marx that I can't really find any way that it could possibly be relevant - certainly it has nothing to do with the other right-wing boogeyman, Communism.

    I find myself agreeing with this segment of the article:

    Still, the fact that reactionaries are looking to legislate against certain ideas may be a sign of just how weak their own position is.

    Laats suspects that the right is using “critical race theory” as a euphemism. “You can’t go to a school board and say you want to ban the idea that Black Lives Matter.

    “They’ve given up on arguing in favor of indoctrination and instead say that critical race theory is the actual indoctrination,” he said of the conservative movement. “They’ve given up on arguing in favor of racism to say that critical race theory is the real racism. This campaign against the teaching of critical race theory is scary, and it’s a sign of great strength, but it’s strength in favor of an idea that’s already lost.”

    12 votes
    1. [6]
      kfwyre
      Link Parent
      Yup. Also, "students are being taught to hate America". That's actually an exact quote from a conservative co-worker of mine, from a discussion we had just this past week.

      One talking point that just drives me absolutely insane is that 'leftists' are trying to force children to learn that if they're white they should feel bad.

      Yup. Also, "students are being taught to hate America".

      That's actually an exact quote from a conservative co-worker of mine, from a discussion we had just this past week.

      10 votes
      1. elcuello
        Link Parent
        I don't like the word hate but the amount of circlejerk Americans have participated in all through my life in media, politics etc. is finally starting to catch up with them and maybe a little...

        I don't like the word hate but the amount of circlejerk Americans have participated in all through my life in media, politics etc. is finally starting to catch up with them and maybe a little animosity towards their own country/society wouldn't hurt.

        8 votes
      2. Gaywallet
        Link Parent
        Kinda funny when I think of my own experience. What I was taught in school actually feels more like a bulwark that caused me to take much longer to hate this place. What I saw in my day to day...

        Kinda funny when I think of my own experience. What I was taught in school actually feels more like a bulwark that caused me to take much longer to hate this place. What I saw in my day to day living in this country made me hate it. The lies they fed me in school which elevated our founding fathers and whitewashed some of the atrocities we did gave me a favorable light to compare to - one which I found myself thinking "certain things used to be better", when the reality is that it never was.

        7 votes
      3. sharpstick
        Link Parent
        I think part (a small part) is the difference in the understanding of the word "critical." As CRT was developed in a rarified legal/academic environment the word critical meant "to study...

        I think part (a small part) is the difference in the understanding of the word "critical." As CRT was developed in a rarified legal/academic environment the word critical meant "to study thoroughly and seriously because it is important" but to those outside of this environment the word is taken to mean "to find fault with." The former has the goal of understanding the issue in order to offer answers to a problem. The later has the goal of complaining about the problem without necessarily understanding the issues.

        This corresponds to general antipathy that some Americans (right and left) have to being told they are wrong or mistaken about something. Criticism is seen as a personal attack to be fought against. The first reaction is "you can't tell me what to do" which precludes any possible benefit of instruction. Self-reflection and willingness to admit fault are anathema. Which is how a relatively reasonable, academic look at how race function in our society is seen as an existential threat to all we hold dear.

        5 votes
      4. [2]
        skybrian
        Link Parent
        I’m curious if that has anything to do with what happens at your school. Or is it just talking about the news?

        I’m curious if that has anything to do with what happens at your school. Or is it just talking about the news?

        1 vote
        1. kfwyre
          Link Parent
          It was just the news. It was specifically in reference to capitalism (they equated hating capitalism with hating America), so I feel their comment was more about students at the college level, as...

          It was just the news. It was specifically in reference to capitalism (they equated hating capitalism with hating America), so I feel their comment was more about students at the college level, as that isn’t really a topic that sees much (if any) discussion at my level.

          4 votes
  2. spit-evil-olive-tips
    Link
    For some background on "critical race theory" and how it's become a bogeyman that conservatives want to use as a label for "anything related to race and racism that we disagree with", I'd...

    For some background on "critical race theory" and how it's become a bogeyman that conservatives want to use as a label for "anything related to race and racism that we disagree with", I'd recommend this episode of NYT's The Argument podcast:

    Who would have guessed that a school of thought from the 1970s could cause controversy in a handful of states among politicians, on school boards and in college classrooms in 2021?

    Critical race theory originated as a way of examining racism within the structures of American society. But now, for some it is synonymous with school curriculums and workplace diversity training. It has also become the battleground for a new culture war between conservatives and liberals who disagree on how helpful or harmful these teachings are.

    This week, Jane Coaston talks to John McWhorter, a linguist at Columbia University who has written extensively on race and language, and Michelle Goldberg, an Opinion columnist at The New York Times.

    3 votes
  3. [4]
    pumasocks
    Link
    Clearly the left and the right have strong opinions on critical race theory curriculum, but has anyone here looked at what exactly is being taught? Certainly someone has access to this material...

    Clearly the left and the right have strong opinions on critical race theory curriculum, but has anyone here looked at what exactly is being taught? Certainly someone has access to this material and could post it online to end the argument?

    2 votes
    1. [4]
      Comment removed by site admin
      Link Parent
      1. [4]
        Comment deleted by author
        Link Parent
        1. [2]
          psi
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          Of course there is academic criticism to critical race theory (see /u/spit-evil-olive-tips's podcast recommendation here which covers some of that criticism). However (as you noted) conservative...

          Of course there is academic criticism to critical race theory (see /u/spit-evil-olive-tips's podcast recommendation here which covers some of that criticism). However (as you noted) conservative backlash against the 1619 Project is decidedly not based on any academic argument. In fact, I think it would be inappropriate to link their objection to the 1619 Project with critical race theory at all, considering the extent to which conservatives strawman critical race theory to begin with (as /u/Akir elaborated on above).

          8 votes
          1. [2]
            Comment deleted by author
            Link Parent
            1. psi
              (edited )
              Link Parent
              Honestly, I don't think it is. I'm sure most conservatives have a reflexively negative view of critical race theory whereas most liberals have a reflexively positive one. But I don't expect the...

              and I believe in this case, significant reflection is deserved.

              Honestly, I don't think it is. I'm sure most conservatives have a reflexively negative view of critical race theory whereas most liberals have a reflexively positive one. But I don't expect the average person to have a nuanced opinion of critical race theory for the same reason I don't expect the average person to have a nuanced opinion of the black hole information paradox -- they lack the necessary background to engage at an academic level.

              Moreover, to the extent that there is valid criticism of critical race theory, it doesn't follow that the criticism would extend to the 1619 Project. Criticism of critical race theory is likely too general to apply here. Most who support the 1619 Project do so because it grapples with white supremacy without whitewashing history; the 1619 Project's incidental foundation in critical race theory is not what draws people in.

              Edit: Or to put it more succinctly, when conservatives and liberal argue about critical race theory, both sides have already lost. Neither side really cares about critical race theory – they care about to what extent we should (de)emphasize white supremacy in US history.

              7 votes
        2. Akir
          Link Parent
          Frankly I don’t think that it’s relevant to the conversation. There are criticisms of literally every theory in every field. The question being brought up by conservatives is “should we teach...

          Frankly I don’t think that it’s relevant to the conversation. There are criticisms of literally every theory in every field. The question being brought up by conservatives is “should we teach this”, to which they answer “no”. If it weren’t well established, I would lean towards that answer, but that’s not the case. And since it is well established I would argue that it’s more important to teach it well, so that students can understand the criticism and have a better understanding of history as a whole.

          7 votes