Critical Race Theory

[acri1]

While this isn't really taught in school, at least below the college level, outrage about this seems to be a huge motivating factor for Republicans this cycle. And I don't just mean at the polls. Lots of schools, teachers, and school board meetings are getting flooded with parents worrying about this, and the fact that it's not taught doesn't seem to matter. The strategy to create a bunch of hysteria about this seems to be paying off for the GOP in a big way.


So my question is, if you're a Democratic politician or strategist, what do you do to address the "issue"? Do you just ignore the topic, focus on other stuff, and hope it goes away (since any mention of it seems to help Republicans) or do you actually try to press the issue and educate people about it? I'm kind of curious as to what the strategy should be if Dems don't want to take a huge L next year due to riled-up white voters.

 

[Shogun]

Republicans took over the board of Ed in the district I work with this as their rallying cry.

 

[OnFleekTing]

A lot of white people are stupid but dems could easily quash this by making the conversion into a bad faith argument
Have republicans explain what critical race theory is and then ask why learning the history of the US is bad?

Its become a tentpole term for them to whine about every grievance that has nothing to do with education and more to do with social decorum regarding race

 

[Pressure]

Don't care. I don't have to raise my kid in a backwards ass school district.

 

[Althalucian]

While this isn't really taught in school, at least below the college level, outrage about this seems to be a huge motivating factor for Republicans this cycle. And I don't just mean at the polls. Lots of schools, teachers, and school board meetings are getting flooded with parents worrying about this, and the fact that it's not taught doesn't seem to matter. The strategy to create a bunch of hysteria about this seems to be paying off for the GOP in a big way.


So my question is, if you're a Democratic politician or strategist, what do you do to address the "issue"? Do you just ignore the topic, focus on other stuff, and hope it goes away (since any mention of it seems to help Republicans) or do you actually try to press the issue and educate people about it? I'm kind of curious as to what the strategy should be if Dems don't want to take a huge L next year due to riled-up white voters.

A lot of white people are stupid but dems could easily quash this by making the conversion into a bad faith argument
Have republicans explain what critical race theory is and then ask why learning the history of the US is bad?

Its become a tentpole term for them to whine about every grievance that has nothing to do with education and more to do with social decorum regarding race

You can't have Dems quash it easily, and it's hard for Dems to defend against it, which makes it particularly brilliant from a GOP/conservative propaganda perspective. Reasons that Dems can't easily quash it:

• Every Dem politician, official, board member, liberal, moderate, etc all have their own individual belief and worldview structure on race, and having them all be on the same message about some abstract intellectual frameworks that are quite frankly more in line with academia and learning is pretty much impossible.
• The vast majority of the Dems and officials who are being pressed on this are WHITE PEOPLE. Don't you think that WHITE PEOPLE already struggle when it comes to talking about race? A great deal of them are racists, race and history apathetic, or incapable of talking about race. Let's get real - this is a trap to trip people up.
• The Critical Race Theory fear and mania is really just a backlash for people talking about race and its effects. Someone says that we need more equity? That's CRT. Someone says that black people have been disadvantaged economically because of the history of the US? That's CRT. Someone complains about racism? That's CRT. Someone wants to recognize that race has a big impact on daily life in the US? That's CRT. Some company is doing some DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) training? That's CRT. This is a trap.
• We're too large of a country to be on the same message when it comes to something a great deal of people either don't care about or secretly agree that that they don't like caring about black people or whatever. There's a lot of groups that are in play here. White people. Other minorities and marginalized groups. Immigrants. Etc. For example, you think immigrants from the last 60 years give a single fukk about what happened to black people in this country? They are thinking about themselves and rather join in on dunking on whoever they perceive might be below them in the pecking order. A lot of their children are disproportionately leaders in financial, business, and education sectors, so they have an impact.

The one advantage to this is that this will "blow over" soon enough. They'll be on to another shytty propaganda tactic. The downside is that in the brains of plenty of white people, republicans, moderates, and many others, "CRT" will consume all the great work that black people have done academically and socially these past 50+++ years and push that into CRT. CRT will become a sphere in their brain that will hold all that hard work we've done as a people, and then will decide that it's all wrong...because "CRT" is wrong. Black people are wrong. The history should be forgotten. It's effects. They will live in a fantasy land where history has had no effect on the present moment. It's a backlash. They always do this.

 

[wire28]

Fear whether of something real or imagined is one of a politicians most potent tools. Especially the GQP

 

[mc_brew]

dems should present the counter argument.... not to win the majority over, because that is not possible... but to cut into the numbers of people buying into this...

trump and youngkin are both brilliant in their strategies... trump actually campaigned in detroit in 2016... detroit is one of the blackest cities in the country, if not the blackest major city... trump didn't come anywhere close to winning detroit... and he knew he wouldn't... he didn't need to... that wasn't the point.. the point was just to cut into the numbers of hillary votes that detroit would produce so that it wouldn't offset all the votes trump would get elsewhere in michigan... and he won michigan using this strategy...

where democrats fukk up is by not going into rural areas to campaign.. in fact this is how obama won and why he dissed hillary after she lost... obama didn't win many rural areas, but he cut into the percent he lost by so those loses didn't cut into his wins in urban centers.... this is what democrats have to do... CUT INTO THE NUMBERS... not worry about winning the overall argument, because they can't...

now onto why democrats cannot win the overall argument... amerikkkans are proudly racist.... dog whistles are used to signal racists who don't want to openly admit they are racist.... but the dog whistles became so faint that not enough racists heard them... so trump grabbed a bullhorn to make sure racist whites who tuned out of politics got back into politics... and it worked... those white people aren't going to be persuaded by anything dems say about crt, because they are proudly anti-black... the goal shouldn't be to win the majority of bigoted whites over, it shoud be to cut into the numbers of racist whites that vote republican and to continue winning urban and suburban areas...

p.s.: this is obligatory... yes dems also have to promote policies that actually make people's lives better as well... improving lives of the majority of people is more important than making the case for crt, but both need to be done....

 

[DEAD7]

If it isnt being taught, what does banning it from being taught do?and why does anyone care?

 

[acri1]

If it isnt being taught, what does banning it from being taught do?and why does anyone care?

 

[Althalucian]

That's powerful willful ignorance he has. Wow.

 

[mc_brew]

If it isnt being taught, what does banning it from being taught do?and why does anyone care?

very disingenuous argument, but then we already know you don't post in good faith.... no one cares about banning something that isn't taught, but people thinking it's being taught and voting for who they think will ban it allows politicians to win office who do other things we are against... but you know that.... no wonder you lost your modship....

 

[Professor Emeritus]

If I'm a politician, I say:

"Critical Race Theory isn't taught to students in any of our schools. So it's a non-issue to me. Did you even hear any talk about the phrase before Trump turned it into a new deflection topic in October 2020? I want to focus on the issues that actually affect our community, not these manufactured distractions that political strategists create out of thin air."

If it isnt being taught, what does banning it from being taught do?and why does anyone care?

First off, because they're campaigning on it to get out the vote and engender enmity towards black/brown politicians and their allies. Doesn't need to be valid in order to be a useful tool.

Second, because the bills written to oppose it don't actually ban "critical race theory". They vaguely ban "topics that make students feel uncomfortable due to their race", and then use that as a lever to oppose hundreds of books that cover race topics and pretty much any teacher who brings up the continuing impact of race in America in a realistic way.

 

[DEAD7]

very disingenuous argument, but then we already know you don't post in good faith.... no one cares about banning something that isn't taught, but people thinking it's being taught and voting for who they think will ban it allows politicians to win office who do other things we are against... but you know that.... no wonder you lost your modship....

Second, because the bills written to oppose it don't actually ban "critical race theory". They vaguely ban "topics that make students feel uncomfortable due to their race", and then use that as a lever to oppose hundreds of books that cover race topics and pretty much any teacher who brings up the continuing impact of race in America in a realistic way.

Seems like par for the course

Theyre taking our jobs
We cant afford it
We need higher taxes to fund xyz
They want to put us under sharia law/socialism
They want abolish civil rights
Death panels
etc...

All bullshyt low information voters eat up, that gets people in office, how is this different is what i should have asked?

 

[DEAD7]

@Rhakim welcome back

 

[Wargames]

I would compare it to Holocaust denialism and challenge anyone who says that it is different to explain why.


This is only grown because people thought it was a joke…. Like most of the Republicans rallying cries.