After shredding the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) over its Resolution 21-27 that aimed to ban teaching of critical race theory (CRT) in Paso schools (“Mighty white of you, Paso!” June 24), many undies were immediately bunched—none more bunched than Superintendent Dr. Curt Dubost, who penned this week’s commentary.
“More extreme supporters of critical race theory label anyone who disagrees with its inclusion in schools as racists,” Dubost screamed.
Except this is a straight-up straw man argument since no one—no one—is calling to teach CRT in K-12 schools. I, for one, am disagreeing with the idiocy of making a boogeyman out of CRT with resolutions like 21-27, which is going to the trouble of stopping something that no one’s trying to do. Making CRT scary and in need of banning is white protectionist claptrap.
Dubost goes on to cry himself a river over all the wrongs done to the PRJUSD by the mean old NAACP of SLO, mean old political cartoonist Russell Hodin, and mean old opinion columnist me, wah-wah-wah! Somebody call the wahmbulance because Dr. Curty has a boo-boo.
“These exaggerated insults do nothing to further healthy debate and solely serve to inflame extreme perspectives,” Dubost wrote, completely oblivious to the PRJUSD’s culpability in inflaming extreme perspectives with the inanity of Resolution 21-27.
Then he goes on to explain that the district’s ethnic studies curriculum isn’t going to “ignore or omit historical instances of racism. The only restriction was that historical atrocities be presented in historical context, not through a contemporary lens, and that presentations and supplemental readings be balanced.”
Let’s break those restrictions down. What does “historical context” mean? Does it mean teaching slavery through the historical context of, say, 1863 through 1965, when treating Black people as subhuman was sadly typical and worse legal?
“Enslaving negroes wasn’t that evil because, in a historical context, they weren’t considered human beings like white people.” Is that the idea, Dr. Dubost?
And what does it mean to not teach through “a contemporary lens?” Are teachers supposed to ignore how our culture has evolved? Do teachers, for instance, have to teach Japanese internment through the lens of the 1940s when it was perfectly fine to hoist a banner outside your business that read, “Japs keep moving. This is a white man’s neighborhood”?
My point is that all we have is a contemporary lens through which to view history, and pretending that things like slavery, Native American genocide, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Executive Order 9066 and Japanese Internment, Jim Crow laws, and other things white people did to people of color weren’t abhorrent because white people “thought differently” in the old days is beyond asinine.
And what “supplemental readings” are you thinking of to keep history “balanced?” Are we talking about Jefferson Davis‘ defense of slavery or William Luther Pierce’s The Turner Diaries about overthrowing the government and exterminating non-whites? Some things are not relative, sir. Slavery is simply indefensible. There’s no legitimate “supplemental readings” to balance that it’s not pure evil.
Sigh. Dubost’s commentary is about as lucid and logical as the vaguely constructed Resolution 21-27!
“What was and is of concern are extreme efforts to rewrite American history,” Dubost continued, going on to complain about how people don’t want to continue to honor old ‘heroes.’ Let me read between Dubost’s lines: “First they came for our Confederate Statues, and I did nothing because I was not a Confederate. Then they came for George Washington High School. Not cool, man!”
Dubost complains about “extreme conclusions such as those reached in San Francisco that schools named for Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Grant, and others be renamed so that no one who ever said or did anything now objectionable be honored, regardless of the balance of their historical legacy. Abraham Lincoln? Ulysses S. Grant? Seriously? Not pure enough?”
Oh my! Your slope is so slippery, Curt! Be careful not to fall and fracture your coccyx!
Reassessing American history and deciding who to continue to honor or not isn’t CRT or revisionism; it’s simply coming to grips with the truth, evolving as a culture, and deciding what’s important to teach our children. Dubost mentions the Tulsa Massacre, which most schools failed to teach about for decades! Curriculum evolves! How about you, Curt?
Just to prove his “woke” bona fides, Dubost goes on to trot out all the things that prove he isn’t racist: “I have stood at the former cell of Nelson Mandela.” “I have toured the National Museum of African American History and Culture.” “I remember when racism was overt and institutionalized.”
You “remember?” Oh yeah. We’re a post-racial society now.
Dubost presides over a school district that’s gone out of its way to appease conservative alarmists who fear their children are being indoctrinated in CRT and taught their white skin makes them inherently evil, which isn’t what’s happening at all. CRT isn’t being taught in K-12 and no one—I repeat no one—is calling for it to be.
This is a boogeyman of Dubost’s own making. In fact, I bet if any Paso students are now asking about CRT, it’s because this ridiculous resolution brought it up and kids are curious. Sheesh! Δ
The Shredder volunteers to literally shred both Resolution 21-27 and Dubost’s commentary. Send your thanks to shredder@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jul 8-18, 2021.
I DISAGREE with the Shredder!
Although this columnist seems to go out of his way to assert that so-called Critical Race Theory is not being taught to our K-12 public schoolchildren, their is abundant evidence that, in fact, IT IS being taught, and the lefties certainly plan to expand its introduction to a younger and younger crowd. The purpose of our public schools is to educate, and we ought to leave the political indoctrination out of it.
MSNBC, of all places, just offered a clarifying moment showing what critical race theory is really about.
Christopher Rufo, the Manhattan Institute writer who has done excellent work on the subject, was debating Eddie Glaude, a professor of African American studies at Princeton University.
Rufo pointed out that CRT isnt just about teaching slavery and racism in American history, it also promoted, for instance, opposing capitalism.
Glaude rolled his eyes because the left would rather just force this curriculum through without a discussion. But host Joe Scarborough pressed the issue: Does critical race theory suggest that you are racist and that capitalism is racist and we have to move beyond capitalism?
Glaude responded: It certainly holds the claim that capitalism has its beginnings within the context of the transatlantic slave trade.
This is bunk. Saying that capitalism has its beginnings in slavery ignores the development of paper money, debt, international trade centuries of economic evolution from around the world. Heck, it was the Arab world that first promoted free trade as a path to prosperity, when Europe was still in the Middle Ages.
Its the same sort of sweeping racial overstatement that Nikole Hannah-Jones made in the 1619 Project, when she claimed that the critical reason the American colonies declared independence was the protection of slavery an assertion disputed by historians and quietly corrected by the New York Times, a paper noted for its liberal slant.
Or the argument that modern-day policing has its roots in fugitive slave patrols, even though cops existed in England and other parts of the world before that and modern US policing began after the Civil War and abolition.
Thats because Critical Race Theory isnt an educational initiative its a political one.
If you teach generations of children that capitalism, police and even the founding of the nation have their roots in slavery, you raise a generation that agrees with everything progressives like The “Jihad Squad” promote. Should we be in a hurry to hoist the twisted thinking of people like AOC and Ilian Omar onto our impressionable children? Is it now necessary to indoctrinate the K-12 school children into the progressive/socialist/communist theories on American life?
The so-called Progressives will want socialism and to defund the police and reject every symbol of the nation, from the flag on down. Because its been taught not the complexities of history, but that all those things are inherently evil. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said this week that she wants her members to teach the truth. What she really wants is a voting majority, and its cleat that this whole Critical Race Theory really is about elevating the Democrat Party in future elections. Politicizing our public schools is unwise, unbalanced and unworthy of our great nation, and Paso Robles School District is wise to specifically prevent this debunked theory.
Yp prove my point about the left introducing CRT to K-12 kids, author and prominent Critical Race Theory advocate Ibram X. Kendi will headline a discussion THIS WEEK about educating K-12 children at an American Federation of Teachers conference set to cover developing anti-racist mindsets and actions with the second-largest teachers union in America.
Kendi, a humanities professor at Boston University and author of How to Be an Antiracist, will participate in a talk with AFT secretary-treasurer Fedrick Ingram and other union members at a conference called Together Educating Americas Children.
Hear from Dr. Ibram X. Kendi in this free-ranging discussion with student activists and AFT members on his scholarship and on developing anti-racist mindsets and actions inside and outside classrooms, the agenda for the conference says.
Get it? If, as the Shredder asserts, there is NO PLAN to introduce Critical Race Theory to our K-12 public schoolchildren, then why is the nations largest teachers union holding debates and discussions about introducing CRT into our schools? If there is no plan to use CRT in our schools, why are moderate and conservative teachers who oppose the nonsensical Critical Race Theory being excoriated for speaking out in defense of young children?
It is clear to me and a growing American public that the alt-left is making a play at indoctrinating our K-12 public schoolchildren, and, as more and more information becomes available about the scandalous intent of the so-called progressives in introducing ideological politics like the Critical Race Theory and 1619 Project into our schools, the blowback against these unwise and dangerous ideas will be significant. I predict a growing public scrutiny of how the liberal elites are politicizing what should be an apolitical institution, and this whole CRT scandal ought to wake up the taxpaying public and parents on just how insidious the extreme left is in wanting to experiment with our children.
Now you know the rest of the story.
Reject Racist Critical Race Theory
Oppose Indoctrinating K-12 Schoolchildren
Stop the Alt-Lefts attempt to Politicize OUR Public Schools
Facts Matter, but Idealogical Leftists Culture Warriors Lie
Stop CRT & Project 1619: Unbalanced and Unnecessary
Progressivism=Socialism=Communism
Stop the Nonsense: Join Movement to Ban CRT to K-12 Children
Hands Off Our Children!
Does anyone reading this know of anyone in San Luis Obispo County who is a so-called communist? When Steve Edwards urges his extremist cohorts to eliminate Communists from our community, what is he really saying?
Steve Edwards, who calls a group of Brown legislators “The Jihad Squad”, would like you to know that concerns about white supremacy and racism in the US are overblown, and efforts to teach the history of racism in the US more accurately and deeply is a communist threat.
Last week, I challenged “Steve Edwards”s claims, and noted that he cuts and pastes his arguments, that he is anonymous and that he is inevitably wrong. My comment was deleted after he complained, and now we know who “cancels,” and now we know who are the “snowflakes.” That being said, he’s still wrong. Critical Race Theory is merely the latest right wing cultural outrage that substitutes for the simple fact that the GOP has no policies that serve the American people. They serve corporations and the ultra wealthy; they soak themselves in hypocrisy, they lack shame, they work to deny the vote to those smarter than their base. They are an abomination, and “Steve Edwards” happily throws out their racist propaganda.
People have asked why I’ve appeared in the New Times comments section to rail on a bunch of trolls with fake accounts. For one, it’s fun to do once in a while. And two, I wrote a book that touched on that type of behavior. Three, there’s so much disinformation in one place, it makes a nice sample set of BS to work with.
Here’s a fun fact: “Steve Edwards” is a serial plagiarist. I actually copy and pasted his copy-pasta into TurnItIn, which is anti-plagiarism software, and learned they failed to attribute multiple sources. I suppose I called them an unstable troll so many times, they wanted to overcompensate to sound less unstable, and in doing so, proved they’re just a fraud with too much time on their hands. Fake name. Fake opinions. Real consequences.
Like a broken record, they’ll likely write after my comment, “I live rent-free in his head.” Truth is: I pick on them because their behavior is representative of the SLO County Republican Party under Randall Jordan’s leadership. This is the kind of nonsense they put out there day after day using the same playbook of fake account propaganda that their leadership has promoted to their members.
And I do resent the fact they vandalize the New Times website in a vain attempt to make the story about them, their agenda and their disinformation. I think it’s a disservice to the New Times that they treat the publication like the digital equivalent of a toilet bowl. Bad actors should be removed from the website. Again, not a free speech issue. NT is a company. They have the right to make that call.
The SLO County GOP doesn’t want to debate. They want to disrupt and distract, attack those who criticize them while decrying “cancel culture.” Sad.
Seems like there’s a lot of wild theories here about what is true and what is not. One thing that is “True” is that the American Federation of Teachers just voted to teach Critical Race Theory in our public schools.
Why the teachers’ unions would determine what our children learn in school is an odd concept. In 2019 thirteen high schools in Baltimore could not graduate a single student proficient in either math OR English. Presumably school boards and school administrators are in charge of these things, and they presumably respond to the general community’s concerns about what our children are to be taught. Presumably the teachers teach what the community prescribes, not what their union leadership prefers.
And, though I’m sure there’s some reasonable defense for some part of the “Critical Race Theory” dogma, it clearly does not teach that a color blind society is the only possible solution to making a multi ethnic community successful.
Steven and Mr. Dad from Clovis, CA, it’s absolutely exhausting to constantly deal with your struggle with basic facts and what constitutes “truth”.
No, the the American Federation of Teachers did not “just vote to teach Critical Race Theory in our public schools.” For once, please, just read an actual piece of journalism to explore some basic facts.
To clarify:
The president of the union stated that “culture warriors are labeling any discussion of race, racism or discrimination as [critical race theory] to try to make it toxic….They are bullying teachers and trying to stop us from teaching students accurate history.”
Weingarten said that the American Federation of Teachers, which has about 1.7 million members, has “a legal-defense fund ready to go.” Crook said this fund — specifically meant for lawsuits related to critical race theory bills.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/educa…
Good job here, shredder. I wonder if Mr. Dubost’s time (he gets paid about $1,000 a day) is worth responding to criticism from local journalists when his job should actually be concerned with things like facilities, maintenance, personnel, curriculum, etc. Shame on Mr. Dubost for forgetting the important position he is in. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Paso school district back in debt with individuals such as Mr. Dubost and Mr. Arend in charge. I thought that district had weeded out the incompetency. A simple “no comment” from Dubost would have sufficed rather than trying to defend something that is not even happening.
Trying to have a logical discussion with a liberal…..is impossible….very similar.to arguing with and idiot…it makes no sense!!!
I agree with Mr. Keith Campbell!
Contrary to the leftist claims, I think we all know that Critical Race Theory is racist, divisive and would harm all of the schoolchildren who have this indoctrination hoisted upon them. We are a better people than to embrace a divisive agenda designed to promote left-wing policy goals, and remember Race Theory started with the Communist and then was taught by the liberal professors in their college campus Ivy Towers. The theory has its roots in Communism, and is designed to harm America by promoting envy, greed and anger among our people.
The core principles of Critical Race Theory are race essentialism, collective guilt and state-sanctioned discrimination. If the left has their way, American families and schoolchildren would be left defenseless against this insidious effort at indoctrination. This pathetic effort to usher in Critical Race Theory was designed to blitz through our American institutions, and the left is so disappointed that now the American public understands just what they were trying to keep secret.
Installing Critical Race Theory into our public schools is a particularly bad idea because our schools have the power of compulsion, and pushing toxic racial theories onto children, insisting to children that they should be judged on the basis of their skin color and that they must atone for historical crimes committed by members of their racial group are anti-ethical to the American experience and everything we know to be right. Our outstanding Founding Fathers embraced the idea of E Pluribus Unum, Out of Many, One , and it would be unwise to divide America by race and skin color.
Although liberal alt-left followers have an individual right to believe in Critical Race Theory, voters and taxpayers are not obligated to subsidize their speech and include it in the public school curriculum. The anti-critical race theory statement passed by the Paso Robles School District certainly does not restrict teaching and inquiry about the history of racism; it restricts indoctrination, abusive pedagogies and state-sanctioned racism.
Many school districts and state legislatures, for example, have told public schools they cannot compel students to personally affirm, adopt or adhere to noxious ideas, such as one race is inherently superior or inferior or that an individual should be adversely treated on the basis of race. For the majority of Americans this makes perfect sense, but the alt-left crowd objects to any effort to push back at their pet project. Amazing.
Currently the California State legislature is mandating critical race theory in their state curricula and teacher-training programs; but if states such as Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho and New Hampshire prohibit it, all of a sudden, that is an un-American threat to the expression of ideas. Dont believe it.
Luckily, the American public has infinitely more sense than the people pushing Critical Race Theory. The revolt against critical race theory has inspired millions of parents to engage in the political process, protest at school board meetings, run for office, file lawsuits, and lobby state legislators to stop the madness through the rightful exercise of democratic power.
According to a recent YouGov/Economist poll, 64 percent of Americans now know about critical race theory, of which 58 percent view it unfavorably, including 72 percent of independents who believe including it in school curricula is bad for America.
Lets not let our public schools be devoured by a hostile ideology that seeks to divide the country by race and undermine the core principles of American democracy. Most Americans know what the extreme left seems to have forgotten: that, in a democracy, it is the people who get to decide how to shape, guide and limit public institutions, especially those who have control over our children.
To preserve America, we must win the war against Critical Race Theory.
Thanks whacky alt-left liberals for the free rent in your head! I go back and forth between being amazed at their idiocy, and enjoying triggering their wrath, nobody can be that vile!
The racist Critical Race Theory is now facing a huge blowback from the American public because the voting public rejects racism, reverse racism and the vestiges of Jim Crow, and CRT is all of these things. We have come to far to divide our country by race, and the whacky alt-left just cannot get off their fixation about skin color, frankly theirs is a boring and worn out narrative.
One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings. Franklin Thomas
As the husband to a beautiful minority woman, and the father of two biracial boys, I must say that my example is very typical of many Americans. We naturally accept others and our embracing of diversity is a given, not a government requirement. The whacky alt-left crowd mistakenly thinks that just one more law or one more government program will somehow solve the problem, but they are wrong. As we see with their hysterical attempt to change the CRT narrative, they are scurrying like rats on a sinking ship to defend an indefensible position: divide our children by race and teach them to see life as a struggle between competing groups who hate each other. They are not only wrong, they are pathetic.
Sadly, black people have suffered and continue to suffer at the hands of race hustlers and social engineers. In 1940, 87% of blacks lived at or below the poverty line. By 1960, only 47% of blacks lived at or below the poverty line. These massive gains within a single generation were made in the presence of wide-spread racism and Jim Crow laws and in the absence of social engineering and race hustlers.
How are blacks doing since the race hustlers took over the civil rights movement and the government embarked on enormous social engineering projects? According to the National Poverty Center, as of 2010, 27.4% of blacks live at or below the poverty line above the national average.
So, lets review: In the presence of widespread racism, Jim Crow laws and in the absence of Al Sharpton, civil rights legislation of any kind (excluding the 13th and 14th amendments) and social engineering, black people managed to make enormous gains. In the 20 year period from 1940 to 1960, 46% of those black people who lived in poverty managed to work their way out of poverty. In the 50 year period from 1960 to 2010, despite all the help from race hustlers, social engineers, the reduction in racism and the elimination of vile Jim Crow laws, black poverty has only been reduced by another 42%.
With the help of the white liberals, multiculturalists, race hustlers and poverty pimps, over three generations, blacks have not been able to match the gains they made in a single generation!
It also should be noted that, obviously, the generation of black people who made such enormous gains was less removed from the generations born into slavery than their descendants. Its defies logic that subsequent generations are suffering set-backs because of some legacy of slavery when the former slaves themselves and their children made such enormous strides without any of the benefits available to subsequent generations.
I imagine that if these former slaves could rise from the their graves, they would be disappointed in their decedents for following the white liberal elites and wasting the opportunities never afforded them.
Get it? The way forward is NOT Critical Race Theory, NOT dividing children by race, and NOT playing into the hands of the race hustlers and poverty pimps, it is a continued pursuit of excellence driven by individual desire. The path forward for blacks and all Americans is set-respect, self-determination and self-reliance. America is an opportunity society and, as in the case of my wife and children, people will rise according to their individual qualities, not more government interference and mandates. Our public schools should stick to education and leave the political indoctrination behind, we do not want or need CRT, Project 1619, and so-called “slave reparations” to further cloud the waters.
Once again, we must stand resolutely as Americans and tell the progressive/socialists/communists crowd that we reject their prescription for American decline. Our children are much too precious than to be used for some weirdo social experiment, and we are a better people than to buy into this divisive, racist theory.
Now you know the rest of the story.
This was an excellent rejoinder to the commentary posted by Curt Dubost. The Paso Robles Teacher’s Union and parents have yet to weigh in, and when they do, expect the so-called debate to continue with the expectation of potental lawsuits against the district if teachers are disciplined for teaching the truth about American history.
If you read the comments of Steve Edwards above carefully you can see he clearly suggests that blacks born or forced into slavery grew stronger in character and deserve more respect than those born free. He goes on to insist that former slaves would side with him in his attacks against Black Lives Matter activists and white liberals seeking reparations for the descendants of slaves. In other words, Steve Edwards is telling us that slavery really wasnt so bad and that freedom and democracy has softened the back bone and ambition of todays black men and women.
We are left asking ourselves why some white dude from who knows where is spending so much time and effort criticizing todays politically active black population while praising the so-called enormous strides of slaves.
With those kind of comments, Steve Edwards, intentionally or not , is obviously giving aid and comfort to white supremacists everywhere.
That Mr. Dubosts comments are in turn giving aid and comfort to Steve Edwards and garnering his public support should be a wake up call And hopefully convince Mr. Dubost to reassess his words and Consider a retraction or public apology for, intentionally or not , helping to fan the flames of racial animosity and division in our community.
I always find it amusing that our alt-left liberal “friends” just cannot seem to master reading comprehension, I suggest remediation beginning with “Hooked on Phonics”, as progress can be made.
I think we begin our American conversation with the idea of “dignity & respect for all”, but, beyond that, we insist on people being responsible for the opportunities that are presented to them. A accurate analysis of my earlier post would reveal that black Americans did better elevating their lot BEFORE the 1960’s civil rights movement, affirmative action, and Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty”. One has to wonder WHY black Americans would, in an earlier era, make such impressive gains in income while they still faced significant discrimination and diminished opportunity to compete on a level playing field? Was it because they realized that they would largely have to tackle that challenge themselves, without the idea of handouts and other government programs that “rob Peter to pay Paul”?
I would assert that black Americans made more significant gains BEFORE the government programs to intentionally boost their finances and stature occurred because they used the tenets of rugged individualism and self-determination to support their rise. In other words, the solution for things like income disparity is for members of those groups to change course, work harder and develop their talents, NO ONE can do it in place of themselves. So-called government attempts to “level the playing field” have never worked, and, in fact, have been shown to be counter-productive.
Like many others, I believe the governments role in creating a more equal society ought to largely be limited to eliminating structural racism, an example being “whites only” public facilities, etc. Similarly, efforts to promote gender equality ought to be limited to stopping efforts to exclude women from participating fully in societal opportunity. Beyond that, it actually is counter-productive to implement a bunch of “feel good” programs aimed at elevating some at the expense of others, these efforts have been shown to be largely ineffective.
In their push to promote big government, and probably to assuage their own guilt, liberals attack the idea that we do not use government to try to address every unfortunate social ill, but sometimes the proper role of government is to get out of the way, and capitalism and the free market have been shown to be the best way to allow ALL Americans to rise. Our rightful focus ought to be on “equality of opportunity” NOT “equality of outcome”, and it should be noted that every time a government has focussed on outcome, opportunity has been diminished.
If you really want to help those groups who are lagging, find ways (and there are many) of enabling them to obtain secure property rights to productive assets and provide them with marketable skill sets — math, science, information theory, etc. — but not counterproductive education in “grievance studies” (e.g., sociology, Black and women’s studies, etc.) that actually reduces their chances of obtaining well-paying jobs.
Income by skin color/ethnic group from the 2010 U.S. Census:
Indian Americans: $135,809
Taiwanese Americans: $102,405
Lebanese Americans: $87,099
Austrian Americans: $86,499
Chinese Americans: $85,424
Greek Americans: $82,036
Korean Americans: $76,674
Irish Americans: $75,583
Vietnamese Americans: $72,161
Spanish Americans: $71,903
Nigerian Americans: $68,658
White Americans: $65,509
Cuban Americans: $57,000
African Americans: $43,862
Appalachian Americans: $38,593
Mexican Americans: $38,000
Navajo American Indians: $31,057
As we see here, it is clear that “Critical Race Theory” cannot stand up to scrutiny, like BLM and Slavery Reparations, they are just campaign talking points of the so-called modern Progressive/Socialist/Communist crowd, and the Whacky Democrats dark prescription for our future would neither help our society nor would it help Black Americans. Looking at the upvote/downvote tallies on this issue, it is clear that the SLO Progressives are NOT FOOLING ANYBODY with their socialist nonsense, and no society has done well by reallocating wealth from one group to another. Implementing ideas like Critical Race Theory will actually do a great disservice to Black Americans.
If the Progressive/Socialist/Communist White Liberal Elite crowd wants to buy into a false narrative, so be it, but leave the rest of us out of their foolishness. If they prefer to teach their own children that Whites are evil and must be punished, so be it, but leave OUR CHILDREN ALONE. If they want to give THEIR MONEY away to Black Americans in an attempt to assuage their guilt, so be it, but hands off using public tax dollars to fund such nonsense.
While I think we can all agree that seeing Black Americans do better in average yearly income would be a good thing, there is significant disagreement on how this can come about. Simply looking at the the above chart shows that income level is not based on skin color, so, if real change is the truly desired outcome, we must explore the other factors that are obviously part of this narrative. Note that many of the top performing income generators are people with darker skin color, what does this suggest?
Now you know the rest of the story.
The evidence clearly shows that no matter the shade of their skin , families descended from American slaves have had a more difficult time achieving parity in the United States. In my experience, in general folks descended from American slaves face harsher discrimination than people who are not descended from American slaves. A nation cannot enslave a vast portion of its population and expect that those slaves will suddenly reach parity, and their descendants will reach parity, simply because they are set free, particularly when being set free does not mean being treated equal to those who were never slaves or have not descended from slaves.
Despite the propaganda from Steve Edwards, slavery was and is a very bad and destructive thing, the effects of which transcend generations.
America broke its promise to the freed slaves. They never got their 40 acres and a mule that was promised. If we could at least give their families that, then at least one debt would be paid.
The only people who are talking about whites being considered evil are the conservative white supremacists who are trying to divide our community and spread fear and animosity among the races and political parties.
Being willing to pay a debt is not a matter of feeling guilty about it, it’s about upholding honor and fairness and doing what’s right. Debts, unless forgiven, should be paid. That’s imperative if we are to maintain a civilized and orderly society. We certainly owe it to all races to work toward equal treatment for all
I think some of our white liberal elite friends are still struggling with their reading comprehension, this time it has to do with historical representations. The idea that freed slaves were to be given 40 acres and a mule was made by U.S. General Roger T. Sherman, and it was a good idea at the time. Unfortunately, the idea of this entitlement came to and end when it was lawfully ended by President Andrew Johnson, President Lincoln’s successor and a sympathizer with the South. Whether one likes it or not, President Johnson overturned the order in the fall of 1865, and, as president of the country, he had the legal authority to do so. America has no lawful debt to anyone on this account.
Not agreeing with a fact does not make it false, you are entitled to your opinion, but the fact stands. 🙂
Many Americans, including black Americans believe that America offers the best hope for a better life, and we just need liberal elites and big government types to stop muddying the waters with the grievance narrative. America is an opportunity society, and it works if you do. For ANYONE who wants to improve their lot in life, get more education, more experience, be patient and see that the magic of “free elections and free markets” acts in miraculous ways. Recently, blacks and other people of color have had their highest employment rate in the recorded history of the statistic, a rising tide lifts all boats. 🙂
As the chart in my previous post clearly indicates, wealth accumulation has NOTHING to do with skin color, as some of the top occupants on the chart have skin color much darker than whites. As a nation, it was (and is) important to remove discrimination which undermines achievement for any and all, but attempting to make all people equal is an unworkable aspiration and, in and of itself, undermines the idea of an opportunity society. A legitimate goal is to provide equality of opportunity, and no society in the history of the world has done as much as America to make equality of opportunity a reality.
Ideas like Critical Race Theory will undermine black achievement, grow grievance culture, and divide America. It is destined to fail, and is unworthy of our great people.
Government wont solve the problem, government is the problem.
Reparations are not about skin color. They’re about slavery.
As is typical, Steve Edwards is trying to mislead readers. There are no plans to award reparations based on skin color. What people are proposing is to provide reparations to families of American-held slaves, regardless of the recipients’ skin tone.
One common example of systemic racism and inequality in American society: In general,public schools in poor black communities receive considerably less public funding than public schools in wealthy white communities
Public schools are run and controlled by democrats….unions…and local govs…. thats why inner city youths are failing in school
What has this week taught us? It has shown that people DO NOT want the biased, partisan and racist Critical Race Theory anywhere around our children, one only has to look at the upvote/downvote tallies in the blogs themselves, it clearly shows that most people reject CRT indoctrination of our children. Reject Critical Race Theory.
Critical Race Theory, like BLM Rioting & Looting, Slave Reparations and Project 1619, is just part of the so-called Progressive Agenda, this crowd aspires to remake America in the mold of ColdWar-Era East Germany, where government plays a larger role in our life, dissent is squashed by left-wing “truth squads”, and individual freedom is extinguished.
As Americans, we must halt the growth of this insidious ideology before it is too late, and anyone who honors America and her path towards a “More Perfect Union” knows that the so-called progressives are following the playbook of socialists and communists. They seek to advance their agenda by dividing America along race and class lines, and it’s easy to see the real motives behind their so-called activism.
Critical Race Theory is a solution looking for a problem. The Alt-Left Progressives seek to advance their narrative of extreme racial hostility and race tension because it garners votes for their political campaigns, they make false claims of oppression and broken promises, and then advance a solution where people who were never racist have to apologize to people who were never victims of racism. Preposterous!
The truth is, America is a multi-cultural, pluralistic democratic-capitalist nation, and no country in the world is as diverse as we are. Contrary to the Alt=Left false narrative, Americans get along with each other, respect each other and race is not a significant factor in American life. My two biracial sons have never had a racial problem with anyone else, sense the respect of others and believe systemic racism is a joke. Get it? The only people advancing a narrative suggesting we all can’t get along is the whacky liberals, and we should just tune them out, they repeat the baseless charges like an echo chamber, it’s a tired outworn lie.
If you want to be trusted, be honest.
Hot topic? I guess so.
I was surprised to see the Shredder discuss an article in the same issue of New Times giving others no chance to weigh in before shredding the article and it’s author.
Seemed premature to me.
No one would have seen the article before picking up their copy of New Times last week and yet the Shredder was on the ball ready to lambast the writer which would surely discourage readers from writing responses to the article and the Shredder.
Of course, those who read the New Times on line were not hesitant to voice their opinions at all.
Good for them!