Thread by @DavidAFrench

A thread on the folly of the anti-CRT bills and the danger of banning ideas. First, let's get one thing perfectly straight. Not one of the anti-CRT bills I've read bans Critical Race Theory. Not one. So right from the start the public is sold a bill of goods. /1

The bills are typically crafted in such a way that they're both over-inclusive and under-inclusive. For example, is this TN provision "banning CRT"? Nope. It's prohibition would sweep up even a teacher critiquing communism (a "creed"). /2

Moreover, because the language of the statutes is so broad and vague, it will leave teachers, parents, and students deeply confused about their scope. Prepare for complaints whenever parents/students simply feel offended or uncomfortable. /3

There are certainly examples of DEI and anti-racist excesses, but most people don't appreciate the extent to which there are better and more effective ways of combatting those excesses than simply banning the promotion of disfavored ideas. /4

For example, Title VI bans racial harassment and racial discrimination federally-funded educational institutions. Students confronting attacks on their race, regardless of their race, have legal recourse. Mere here. /5 frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/is-there-a-c…

Also, the First Amendment offers ample protections against compelled speech, and it also offers ample protections against the kind of speech codes on campus that are sometimes inspired by radical anti-racist or DEI initiatives. /6

In addition, it's better to combat bad ideas with better ideas. Is their curriculum you don't like? Advance a better curriculum. Engage locally with something better rather than simply trying to drop the hammer on opposing speech. /7

Dang. Edit button. Should be "there."

Also, recognize that two can play the ban game. As the anti-woke efforts metastasize, they're defying key, hard-won precedents that protect conservative dissenters in progressive spaces. /8

For example, the conservative legal movement has long litigated to DECREASE state control over the liberty of public employees, contractors and grantees.

The new right is legislating to INCREASE state control. Well, better hope you keep state control. /9 frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/the-conserva…

In short, banning ideas is dangerous. The statutes are overbroad and vague. Existing civil rights law provides strong protection against radical excesses without resort to banning ideas. The better course of action is replacing bad curriculum with better curriculum. /end