Copernicus
Industrial Grade Linguist
Harry's point is that mortgages depend more on "objective criteria" such as credit scores than race, but I do think Politesse is right about how CRT works. The point is that one's general credit rating has to reach a threshold that is much harder for people in certain racial classes. So the system discriminates, not necessarily the actual lender. And that is why Poli's posts are so relevant to this discussion. CRT is portrayed by Republicans and conservatives as an attempt to actually blame racism on white people. That is what drives the hysterical reaction to CRT, which is mischaracterized as having something to do with K-12 education. The fact is that the real CRT is about as far away from its popular reputation as one can get. It has nothing to do with making white people the problem. The demonization of CRT is all about rebranding it. Since almost nobody outside of academia is familiar with the real theory, the rebranding effort is largely successful. Even those demonizing it don't realize how different the real theory is from how they themselves portray it.
I don't disagree. However, there is a very large issue here. When does the average republican (or people to the right) understand nuance? They have an incredible difficult time understanding the difference between today's definition of socialism and the traditional definition of socialism. CRT is more complicated and nuanced than socialism! And this group of folks represents a very large, very motivated group of the electorate. I'm sorry to say that but the CRT issue will be a very large loser for the left over time.
I agree with you on that point, and I also agree with Don2 that not all Republicans who purvey this nonsense about CRT are naive or ignorant on the actual theory. That isn't the point. This just shows how well-organized the right wing propaganda mill is at spinning liberal-progressive messaging strategies. People don't know what "systemic racism" is, but they sure do know it when they feel themselves being accused of racism. The "Critical Race Theory" label contains all of the words that evoke a visceral anger at people who call Republicans and conservatives racists, and it sounds even more like academic bullshit than "systemic racism". There isn't a lot that the left can do, especially if they get bogged down in trying to defend the real CRT, as opposed to the straw man version that is being sold over the media, both mass and social. Nuanced explanations aren't going to do much to change public perceptions. Those who oppose this whole line of rhetoric should probably find ways to change the language of the debate by denying the relevance of CRT, because it really is just a manufactured controversy built on a framework of misleading rhetoric. The CRT issue is a loser for the left, but it was designed by those on the right to be nothing more than that. What is relevant is that everyone should be treated equally regardless of race or gender, so the debate needs to be reframed in more neutral, less academic-sounding terms.