Why do I do this to myself? True to form, The Bulwark‘s Charlie Sykes has once again dismissed anti-critical race theory sentiment as mere paranoia:

These are more than scattered anecdotes, and do seem to indicate a trend — at least in a certain strata of schools. But how widespread is this sort of thing in less elite, posh, rarefied precincts? . . . As far as I know, nobody knows the answer. And nobody really wants to find out. The point of shark attack politics is not data — it is fear and outrage. And for outrage, anecdata is more than sufficient. Statistics are irrelevant, if the stories are graphic and alarming enough. So, even though the vast majority of Americans will never encounter anything remotely like CRT, it becomes a real threat and a potent political weapon.