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“There Is No Such Thing as Critical Race Theory”
At the moment, the left — and Charlie Sykes, but I repeat myself — is engaged in what could be the world’s clearest example of motte-and-baileying. The motte-and-bailey, named for a medieval fortification design, is an argumentative tactic: The arguer takes one position, then retreats to a different, less extreme position when attacked, often denying his support for the extreme position in the first place.
The cascade of anti-CRT bills passed by Republican state legislatures is engendering just this response. Critical race theory is a boogeyman invented by Trump’s stooges, the Very Smart People tell us. No, libraries across the land never hosted Robin DiAngelo book clubs. Medical conglomerates never told us to read anything by Ibram X. Kendi. Critical Race Theory: An Introduction was never published. Kimberlé Crenshaw never edited a tome called Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement. No! What are you talking about? There is no such movement. You’re crazy. Why do you care so much about race, anyway? Are you a racist or something? You must be, since you’re refusing to grapple with America’s racist past. You want to ban teaching about slavery? What kind of monster are you!?
I suppose I should take heart in this turn, since motte-and-baileying is a defensive tactic. But I don’t. The DiAngelos and Kendis and Coateses of the world have served their purpose. Their ideas are now entrenched in the elite psyche, and there they will stay. The oomph may drain away, only to coalesce around some new, shiny bauble (perhaps transhumanism, perhaps transspeciesism, or perhaps something else), but the content will remain — as firm as the notion of original sin in the Christian days of yore. Chirpy young professionals will greet each other with a smile, a nod, and an exhortation to “check your privilege!” before retiring together to the second-date bed. Schoolchildren will give perfunctory apologies for the sins of their ancestors, and blue-haired pilgrims will proudly lift their fists to the heavens during the annual hajj to Floyd Square.
Western civilization will continue its death march.
Published in Culture
For years I’ve been saying, about many topics, that the left denies it until it brags about it. But sometimes it does it in reverse order.
I guess Dreher’s law of merited impossibility (“It will never happen, and when it does, you will deserve it, bigot!”) isn’t enough. We need a second law: “It never happened, but if it had happened, you would’ve deserved it.”
If the NYT is lying about it, you know it exists.
The gaslighting is so omnipresent it’s become difficult to find an issue we’re not being gaslit about.
Yep. And if you notice the media has adopted a specific line claiming that these state bills “ban teaching about slavery” which is an outright lie.
Whether you call it CRT or something else, if your school is teaching that some of its students are racist simply because of their skin color it should be banned and that is what those state bills do.
The solution to systemic ‘racism’, if it exists, is never more vile unapologetic racism.
Anti racism training for Canadian diplomats – cringe worthy.
CRT deniers . . .
I don’t know about Texas government school curriculum or the details of the recent bill passed denying CRT being taught in Texas schools. I did see a guy on Twitter saying that he keeps asking what will be removed from the curriculum and no one can answer him. My guess is that Texas is trying to stay ahead of the game and prevent CRT entering the curriculum in the future.
Can’t wait for the Bulwarks cover piece on the wonders of CRT education
“A Conservative Case For … CRT Education”
The Texas bill forbids teaching that one race is inherently superior to another as well as racial stereotyping. It explicitly requires teaching about slavery, eugenics and the KKK and the moral problems with each.
Thanks. There probably isn’t anything in the teaching yet, but Texas wants to make sure it doesn’t get in there.
You’d be surprised at what has already gotten into teaching across school districts in every state. I certainly have.
We homeschool to avoid that stuff.
Drat: I had a big post queued up about this very thing. Sykes’ piece was a rare thing – devoid of insight but still somehow revelatory, at least about the author. Of course there are problems with CRT, but the real problem are the yahoos who use the term without understanding it, and use their rote opposition as a cover for their unwillingness to discuss racism. He singled out Christopher Rufo, who’s done detailed pieces about CRT-influenced school and corporate plans, and waves him away as a grifter:
The game – it has been given away! Sykes is on to this fellow, and hopes you read every subsequent, detailed, receipt-laden, indisputable account of CRT in public school cirricula through the prism of Sykesian perspicacity.
The best (worst?) thing about that tweet is the chain of replies. People quite literally saying things like, “If you oppose CRT, you’re a racist.” Great company to be keeping, Sykes.
CRT is just shorthand for science and goodness. Noticing that, as a matter of logical necessity, CRT actually leads to pernicious, stupid, and evil outcomes is itself a manifestation of racism. How many fingers am I holding up, Winston, and what color are they?
When did you guys figure out Charlie Sykes was always faking being a conservative?
Thankfully, I never really knew the “conservative” Charlie Sykes, though I did listen to a few episodes of the Weekly Standard podcast (because it was a podcast, and I had time to fill).
I suspect that CRT was invented by the Klu Klux Klan in order to promote white supremacy.
Because according to CRT whites are this evil super race that has managed to dominate and oppress all others and shape the Western world to its liking and for its benefit in myriad ways large and small. They naturally have all the money and power, and they never have to lift a finger to get what they want. They doom non-whites to an inferior status such that all non-whites can do is bemoan their victimhood and console themselves over their many failures in life, because it isn’t their fault. It’s all systemic racism. They have no chance. No use to even try. The supremacy of whites becomes manifest, and people of color increasingly believe in it.
In a cruel twist the Klan has scholars in universities preaching CRT to the students. As a result the students’ chances of ever being successful in America outside of the academic CRT ghetto and the NBA are destroyed. And the connection between the Democrat Party and the Klan can’t be denied. Democrats are pushing to put CRT on the curriculum of schools all across the land.
Have you ever met a member of the Klu Klux Klan? Me neither, but we know they are all around us influencing us. They must be. They’ve got people to the point where they talk about nothing but race and the privileges of race. Everything is about race. Race, race, race. Who else could it be but the Klan? Who in their right mind would think that the way to bring about justice is to foment division and strife between the races?
And the Klan is getting what it wants. Racial relations have been set back decades. Murders, mainly of blacks, are up 25-50% in many cities. No need to terrorize blacks by chasing the police out of their neighborhoods, scrawling racist graffiti on walls or by killing blacks when someone else will do it.
If you haven’t seen this video, it’s right on point.
I think the Klan only consists of undercover FBI agents anymore. Sort of like the story that the FBI keeps child porn servers running to catch people instead of shutting down the servers. Nothing the FBI has done would make me doubt that.
If true, can we have the FBI shut down for distribution of kiddie pron!?