R: Schools are teaching our kids CRT
D: Show one example
R: Well, they’re forcing it on teachers
D: Name one school that does this
R: Well, it’s clearly infecting the curriculum
D: Be specific
NYT: Democrats Take CRT Literally But Not Seriously
R: WE WIN AGAIN 😂
D: There have been multiple court hearings & thousands of pages of documentation demonstrating that Trump covertly sought Russia’s help in getting elected
R: You have no evidence LOL
FOX: There’s a nationwide plot to shame white children for being racist
R: YOU HAD ME AT HELLO
CNN: The Coronavirus death toll continues to rise among the unvaccinated
R: Ehh, CNN and the Democrats are just trying to scare us
FOX: A teacher somewhere in California used the words “white people” & “racist” in the same sentence
R: MAN THE BATTLESTATIONS, PATRIOTS!
R: Critical Race Theory is everywhere! Teachers are crushing the spirit of white children! This is clearly the Democrats’ fault! I’m going to give the school board a piece of my mind!
CNN: 12 more witnesses have been subpoenaed in the 1/6 investigation
R: 🙄 Freakin’ witch hunt
C: I am a political strategist urging Democrats to avoid saying anything that upsets fragile white voters if they ever want to win elections again
D: Doesn’t that mean “Never say or do anything about race, ever”
C: Pretty much
D: So nothing will ever change
C: But elections
C: The GOP is a destructive force hell-bent on undermining democracy. Are you telling me you see no value in winning elections even if you’re ultimately boxed into doing nothing when you win?
D: And people wonder why we don’t inspire more enthusiasm
R: DID YOU CALL ME RACIST?
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While I do not entirely dismiss your goal, I regret to inform you that there is no way to “talk about race” that will not alienate the segment of the voting population that adamantly takes offense at any suggestion that racism remains a thing
The last six months of CRT-related discussion has hammered home the point that there is literally nothing you can say about racial inequality that won’t disturb the Princess-and-the-Pea-level sensitivity of a MAGA conservative: “STOP ACCUSING MY WHITE CHILDREN OF BEING RACIST!”
So although I am certainly open to a realpolitik solution that would incentivize white voters to embrace racial progress, I struggle to consider exactly how such a thing could be done outside of “slip it into the background without really talking about it.”
Yes, but if angry white parents spent months complaining to school boards that their kids were being taught about institutional racism, it would be less “gangbusters electoral strategy” and more “those feral rednecks are insane”
And for the record, I have not conceded that Rufo just “gave a name” to a thing that was already happening: he used the name of an existing legal academic theory to describe something completely different. It’s a little like calling the Native Americans “Indians.”
I am well aware that informing conservatives that they are factually incorrect is exclusively the domain of pointy-headed political naifs, as it changes the minds of no one and makes our side appear fussy, pedantic, & completely out-of-touch with the pulse of Real Americans