How many shenanigans do you see in this document that promotes anti-anti-racism legislation?

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

MODEL SCHOOL BOARD LANGUAGE TO PROHIBIT CRITICAL RACE THEORY

The broad topic is again critical race theory, but this time, in particular, a document sent out top-down, giving the appearance to come from grass-roots (citizens for blah blah blah). The document has been used by Republican legislators in states to create anti-anti-racist legislation and you can see the language similarities between the document and the new legislation in a number of states. Originally, this has been pushed by a former member of the Trump administration Russ Vought who worked with OMB under Trump. Prior to that, he worked for the Heritage Foundation (Heritage Action) which has a similar strategy of pushing propaganda to people, but then phrasing their group as if it is coming from the people directly like "grassroots" whatever. Heritage Action also has a document, though not suggesting legislation, just FOIA requests to local boards of education by Republican activists.

In any case, just like at Heritage Action, this group Citizens for Renewing America, is pushing some serious propaganda including lies by omission, focusing on indirect connections, hyperbole, and just plain fabrication. What I'd like to do is to get people to peruse the document, give it a skim and get a feel for just how much dishonesty and tricks are in there so that we all know what is going on. I will start with an example and in a poll, I'll ask how many shenanigans do you reckon are there from your observing the text within.

So, here I think is an example of shenanigans. On page 6, the document lists some 88 additional terms for which it makes the following claims:

Additional terms and concepts below that either wholly violate the above clauses, or which may if taught through the framework of any of the prohibited activities defined above, partially violate the above clauses in what is otherwise broadly defined as “critical race theory”:

But the "above clauses" contained a lot of hyperbole and other shenanigans and making a list like this, while it DOES contain some radical terms, it also contains a lot of innocuous terms that are going to be used as a tactic to scare parents into further going down the rabbit hole. The example I'm bringing is Social Emotional Learning. Social Emotional Learning is "soft skills" like how to keep yourself safe, how to communicate, how to make friends, etc. After my 13 year old was off from school because of the pandemic and then returned to a hybrid learning environment, the school sent out a message that for the first 2 weeks the children were back, they'd focus on Social Emotional Learning. OMFG, the HORROR!!111one11! They were making the kids Reverse Racialists!!11!11one. No, not really. Can SEL somehow work with concepts like diversity and empathy? Yes, that is because that is how social skills themselves are integrated with those concepts. But listing SEL is at-best superfluous since if you remove reverse discrimination, it's removed, and at-worst, it's a scare tactic to paranoid parents. So I'm calling shenanigans!

My question to you is how many shenanigans do you observe and can you list a few in the thread?

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

One of the other interesting things about this document used to push for [state and local] legislation and rules is how it labels things as CRT that are not CRT.

From the document page#1, the very first thing...the title:
"Model School Board Language to Prohibit Critical Race Theory"

Oh, so, it's about CRT, right? Nope, the very next thing:
The purpose of this policy (or resolution) is to prohibit:

• the teaching and promotion of critical race theory,
• divisive concepts, and
• other forms of government-sanctioned or -facilitated racism in our school district and to uphold the foundational American principle that all people are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

In other words, it's all "critical race theory" (in quotes). And if you read the document, throughout, afterward, it's putting CRT in those quotes. Page#1 under a definition section " 'Critical Race Theory' means any theory or ideology that" followed by a litany of some 10 things that are not all CRT such as some thing alluding to "patriarchy" and the illegitimate claim that "one race is superior to another race." Ah, so that's where all that comes from... Page 2 then includes the 1619 Project. Which is why people start bringing it up in a discussion of CRT and you are like "WTF," and then they respond, "well, I kinda feel they are the same thing..." Yes, that's because propagandists keep associating all these things together...

Page#3 you have the quotes again around CRT:

The tenets outlined in section (1)(B), often found in “critical race theory,” undermine a free society and sound education and otherwise exacerbate and inflame divisions on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, national origin, or other criteria in ways contrary to the unity of the nation, the founding principles of the nation, and the well-being of the citizens of [insert local school board jurisdiction].

in addition to a templated communication that legislators or Republican Board of Education/town politicians/scared parents can use by putting their town/state name in it...

Page#6, an implicit admission of broadly defining the things they are choosing to fight as "CRT" in quotes:

Additional terms and concepts below that either wholly violate the above clauses, or which may if taught through the framework of any of the prohibited activities defined above, partially violate the above clauses in what is otherwise broadly defined as “critical race theory”:

 

[Politesse]

I'm trying to imagine what school would look like without any "divisive concepts" in it, and failing. Is it just, like, a daycare where the kiddos play "Go Fish" for eight hours and then go home?

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

I'm trying to imagine what school would look like without any "divisive concepts" in it, and failing. Is it just, like, a daycare where the kiddos play "Go Fish" for eight hours and then go home?

The things they claim to be divisive are specific things they want to ban, but can't come up with a good enough lie to explain why. It's like when that Republican politician said he was against Juneteenth because it's divisive.

But yeah, if you ban divisive concepts, you can't teach history, sociology, current events, ethics, philosophy, evolution, climate change, the age of the earth being what it is, ..., pretty much you let the conservative Christians take over because they're the ones controlling what is labeled divisive or not.

 

[Swammerdami]

@ OP — It seems rather sadistic of you to ask us to read a bunch of right-wing bullshit. Do you really think we're unaware of the nastiness, bullshit and hypocrisy that are the right-wing's only agenda these days?

But I am masochistic enough to comply partially with your sadism. I decided to examine a single page, and clicked the next-page button a few times randomly, ending on Page 5.

Section 4. Penalties
Along with the board of education, the principal of each school subject to the provisions herein
enacted must enforce those provisions. The principal may delegate some aspects of the
responsibility of that enforcement so long as that principal remains active in the enforcement
process. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever a complaint concerning the
potential violation of the provisions herein enacted by a covered school, school employee, or
contractor is brought to the principal’s attention or the principal has any cause to suspect that
such a violation has occurred, is occurring, or may occur, the principal must notify the board of
education in writing as expeditiously as is reasonable but within no later than 7 calendar days.
The board of education then has 30 calendar days to complete an assessment of the covered
school or school employee’s violation and make it publicly available to residents within the
school district.

First note that the Party which pretends to espouse Liberty and Local Control of Goverment acts like Fascists and imposes strict authority over local schools. But this is totalitarian and hypocritical rather than "shenanigan."

However the detailed process is a common GOP shenanigan in spades. For decades now, the GOP has systemically denuded schools and other governmental entities of funding, while increasing their legal obligations. Whenever some random Joe SixPack complains — and they will! — the principal is obligated to initiate an involved process. You will see school officials literally saying "We'd like to review Johnny's test scores, Ms. Citizen, but we don't have time. The legislature requires us to devote our resources to responding to Joe Sixpack's complaint and the eleven other complaints filed by his friends."

Sabotaging public schools in this way is a key part of their agenda. They're hoping to be able to say "See? The schools are so busy with 'administration' they don't have time to educate. We need to divert more of their funds to Pastor Billy-Bob's Baptist Bible school."

The bull-shit in this part of the document goes on and on, extending to Page 6. But I've done my masochistic duty.