What the moral panic about 'critical race theory' is about

[Judi Lynn]

Moira Donegan
The real reason Republicans want to ban schools from teaching CRT

Whatever Republican politicians and rightwing media are referring to when they talk about “critical race theory”, it has little to do with critical race theory as an actual discipline. Developed in the 1970s and 80s by law professors – notably Derrick Bell and his acolyte, Kimberlé Crenshaw, at Harvard – the real CRT is analytic framework through which academics can discern the ways that racial disparities are reproduced by the law, and how the legacies of historical racism can persist even after discriminatory policies are revised.

But maybe the very obscurity of this genuine critical race theory is the point: before it became the object of the American right’s latest moral panic, few people had heard of critical race theory, and even fewer understood what it really was. The phrase itself sounds distant, lofty, and abstract – “critical”, “theory” – the kind of thing that comes out of the mouths of people in tweed blazers who think they’re better than you. The very opacity of the words made them the perfect vehicle for what the right wing wanted: a new vessel for white racial anxiety and grievance.

And so it is that something Republicans are calling “critical race theory” became the center of a series of statehouse bills – some proposed, others already signed into law – that aim to ban honest conversations about race and sex oppression in America from classrooms. Casting themselves in opposition to a supposed ideology of white sinfulness and inferiority that they claim is sweeping through the nation and indoctrinating children, Republicans are using “critical race theory” as a catch-all for any discussions of America’s past or present that have the potential to render their base uncomfortable.

Laws claiming to ban critical race theory from public school curriculums have been passed in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, and have been advanced in Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia. The bills themselves are patently unconstitutional and will not hold up in court, and they are so non-specific regarding what exactly they oppose that it’s also hard to imagine how they could ever be meaningfully enforced, even if they were not destined to be thrown out.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/17/critical-race-theory-republicans-moira-donegan

[rampartc]

1. i'm waiting for the trial of some hapless public school teacher

for having the temerity to reach her 2nd graders "critical race theory."

i hope she can find a modern f lee baily to tear these idiots apart.

ironic that scopes was prosecuted by william jennings bryan, twice nominated for president as a democrat and the brilliant speaker who delivered one of the great speeches in american history...

[rampartc]

2. diplicate deleted

[underpants]

3. This reminds me of what I've read about how the Tulsa riots were treated in Tulsa

I’ve read or heard several accounts in which the standard treatment of discussions about the Tulsa riots of 1921 were to completely shut them down. “No no no we aren’t talking about that” was the norm whenever it was raised. Obviously it couldn’t BE bought up until very recently but even then -until maybe 10 years ago - someone, usually white, took over the conversation routing it in another direction or just flatly stating that they weren’t going to talk about it.

Remember- in Fox News world Obama is THE most racist President ever. He dared to mention both sides of discussions.

[czarjak]

4. The "move along, nothing to see here" defense.

[ShazamIam]

5. Another carefully crafted phrase from conservative think tanks to use for attacks like these

earlier created phrases used to shape the dialog and narrow the discussion and stop the discussions.

Identity politics

feminazis (given to Limbaugh)

BLM, yes the name and movement created in conservative think tanks and urged onto the African American community when the purpose, as we saw used post George Floyd, to attack African Americans for being, "too pushy, too demanding and resorting to violence." And from the beginning, used for attacks by the news people.

The name itself, generates controversy.

Here are some other's

PETA, to make you hate animal rights activists

OWS to make you think some one would punish the engineers and remedy the people the economic crash of 2007,

ELF: Earth Liberation Front: to make you hate environmentalists

There are more, my list is on another computer.

[Aristus]

12. SJW.

They never say 'Social Justice Warrior', because they know that social justice is a good thing, and they don't want to appear to be against it at casual glance.

[ShazamIam]

13. Yes, SJW is special to cover feminists, LGBQT, anything relating to cultural diversity,

plus equal opportunity for educational, political and economical power.

[electric_blue68]

6. Oh, I remember Professor Bell.

[zentrum]

7. It shouldn't even be called "Theory".

That makes it sound speculative.

It's HISTORY.

It's Critical Race History.

[ShazzieB]

10. Critical Race Theory is about a lot more than just history.

The academics who launched this area of study and continue to do work on it gave it that name, and they had well thought out reasons for calling it that. It's not for any of us to dictate that it should be called something different.

Please see reply no. 8 for details and links.

[zentrum]

11. Not dictating anything.

It's just an opinion.

I do think "theory" gives it that academic quality that can be so twisted by the RW to rev up MAGA opposition. That matters, because they can prevent it from being taught in our text books.

Fine to not call it history. But I think it needs a label other than "theory".

[keithbvadu2]

8. CRT... Gatherings from different articles...

Gatherings from different articles... I would guess that over 95% of folks, both black and white, do not really know what Critical Race Theory is.
I did not until I read up on it.

For most folks, it is a bogeyman with a catch phrase.

(Rough draft of a future email)

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1618 https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215536557

We asked Republicans to explain Critical Race Theory--but they couldn't

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/critical-race-theory-republicans/

Link to tweet

"But with Republicans hoping to return to power in Washington, they have doubled down on Critical Race Theory as their latest boogeyman, even if they have no idea what it means. "
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https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Critical+Race+Theory

Many 'definitions' seem to wander around themselves.
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This one actually says something.

It's loose enough that any discussion of race or slavery could lead into "Critical Race Theory".

(It seems to be lacking a religious aspect.)

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-is-critical-race-theory-and-why-is-it-under-attack/2021/05

Just what is critical race theory anyway?

"Critical race theory is an academic concept that is more than 40 years old. The core idea is that racism is a social construct, and that it is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies."
--------------------------------
Our hero... Groucho Marx - I'm Against It

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1618 https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215538945

Revisionist history of slavery.

Dubya was well known for using that term but he was an amatuer compared to the 'history' of slavery.

https://tinyurl.com/56x367up

https://www.google.com/search?q=revisionist+history+dubya&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALeKk00sTiyO4iWX4VBKrHLL5tuZfhk73Q%3A1624032794302&ei=GsbMYKntEaaHggfQ-5RQ&oq=revisionist+history+dubya&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAwyBQghEKABMgUIIRCgATIFCCEQoAEyBQghEKABOgcIIxCwAxAnOgcIABBHELADOgcIABCwAxBDOgIIADoECAAQQzoFCAAQzQJQwogEWOanBGDlywRoAXACeACAAfMDiAHQCZIBBzAuNi40LTGYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6yAEKwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwip4rrOyaHxAhWmg-AKHdA9BQoQ4dUDCA0

https://civilrightsheritage.com/2019/10/03/happy-slaves-described-in-7th-grade-virginia-textbook-used-for-20-yrs/

“Happy Slaves” Described In 7th Grade Virginia Textbook Used for 20 Yrs.
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https://crooksandliars.com/2021/06/what-s-critical-race-theory-uproar-really

What’s The 'Critical Race Theory’ Uproar Really About? Making Enemies For 2022
The whole campaign against CRT, in fact, appears to be primarily the work of a handful of astroturfing “dark money” right-wing organizations. And its central figure is named Christopher Rufo.
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Fox News caught trying to pass off GOP operatives as parents "concerned" about critical race theory

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/fox-news-caught-trying-to-pass-off-gop-operatives-as-parents-concerned-about-critical-race-theory/ar-AALa09c

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1619 https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016295241

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/17/critical-race-theory-republicans-moira-donegan

What the moral panic about 'critical race theory' is about

Moira Donegan
The real reason Republicans want to ban schools from teaching CRT

[ck4829]

9. K&R

Last edited Tue Jun 29, 2021, 12:39 PM - Edit history (1)

Critical Race Theory