CRT (now rebranded as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion DEI) and DOJ involvement in school board meetings

[Fritz]

https://unherd.com/2021/10/critical-race-theorys-new-disguise/

For white students, the blame of slavery and Jim Crow laws are laid at their feet. Bari Weiss recently revealed a number of shocking cases of how this manifests itself in schools, but one in particular caught my eye: “A Fieldston student says that students are often told ‘if you are white and male, you are second in line to speak.’ This is considered a normal and necessary redistribution of power.” But it is far from “normal” or “necessary”. Putting the atrocious sins of America’s past on the shoulders of children and teenagers is a form of child abuse.

For black children, the situation is no better. Students are being taught that it is the system, not their own effort and abilities, that will determine their future in life. This discourages hard work, motivation, ambition and aspiration. It also breeds distrust and hostility towards white teachers, further truncating their abilities to learn and progress in school. As Ian Rowe points out, “the narrative that white people ‘hold the power’ conveys a wrongheaded notion of white superiority and creates an illusion of black dependency on white largesse”.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/10/07/school-boards-dont-call-fbi/6035611001/

On Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland released a memorandum describing how the Federal Bureau of Investigation will coordinate with law enforcement agencies across the country to address threats to school administrators and school board members.  

The memo states that there has been a “disturbing spike” in the harassment of school staff and a “rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel.” Alas, there is no evidence of a rise in the memorandum or references to where one could find evidence of it.

No actual proof of increased violence

One can find evidence in a Sept. 29 letter from the National School Board Association to Biden documenting “heinous actions” that “could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.”

If one reads the letter, one finds people clearly raising their voices, which is normal when people are discussing things that matter to them. When parents or community members cross the line into threats, local law enforcement has handled the situation. There is no quantitative data in the letter; instead, there are a bunch of disparate stories strung together to make it look like there is a pattern. 

For example, the letter reports that in two school board meetings, “an individual yelled a Nazi salute in protest to masking requirements” and another person “prompted the board to call a recess because of opposition to critical race theory.” These acts are disruptive and inappropriate, but democracy is not a graduate school seminar, and parents are allowed to express themselves to elected school board members. Schools should want parents invested in the well-being of their children.

What is the attorney general’s plan to address this phantom threat? He has directed the FBI to coordinate with law enforcement agencies and 14,000 public school districts to formulate “strategies for addressing threats” and opening “dedicated lines of communication for threat reporting.”

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10072659/Florida-mom-calls-mass-exodus-public-school-row-CRT-masks.html

 

'It is extremely pervasive. I don't think parents realize just how pervasive it is,' King said. 'In Duval County, I found CRT workshops and events as far back as 2011.' 

'Understanding that they are not kidding, this is not going away, the enemy has no chill and is advancing forward as fast - we can see it - we're at home trying to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for your kids and the FBI could be knocking at your door because you said the wrong thing at a school board meeting.'

'These people are serious,' she continued. 'They want to silence us and shut us down. I really think at this point, the only thing to do is have a mass exodus from the school system. That's it.'

I have to say I agree with this Florida mother. I do have some concern what this mass exodus will mean for homeschooling. If they are willing to use the DOJ to intimidate parents speaking out at school board meetings against CRT I can't imagine they will take being denied access to America's children as a captive audience for indoctrination well. 

And here is what Nikole Hannah-Jones thinks about school choice. School choice seems like a great idea to me. 

https://www.foxnews.com/media/hannah-jones-chided-for-saying-parents-have-two-choices-homeschool-or-pay-tuition

In a message intended to belittle the school choice movement, New York Times Magazine reporter Nicole Hannah-Jones said parents “already” have choice, listing just two options: Homeschool or pay tuition.

 

[livetoread]

Pretty ironic that this article accuses the gov't memo of lack of quantitative data and stringing disparate stories together to try and show a pattern, particularly given its opening paragraphs. It's impossible to discuss this topic when stuff like this is presented as the launching board.

[Tanaqui]

One of your three links is the Daily Fail. There's a reason JKR assigned that rag to Vernon Dursley's daily reading.

Another manages to completely ignore incidents like the man who went to his child's school threatening to ziptie the principal and do a "citizen's arrest" because of a mandatory quarantine. With a start like that, I don't care to read the finish.

The third, unherd.com, I haven't even heard of.  That doesn't make me feel too sanguine about them, but still, I'm sure there's lots of reputable organizations I haven't heard of. However, a quick google shows that this ain't one of 'em.

If you want to convince people, having a 2/3 bias in your news organizations (plus one opinion piece) is not the way to go. Try something that at least tries to be unbiased.

[hshibley]

Have you been to any of your local school board meetings recently? Ours here have become out of control with parents screaming nonstop and acting out to the point of the room being cleared by the sheriffs department several months in a row. Meetings have had to be stopped mid meeting because they could not insure the safety of the school board members and others attending the meetings. This is not normal behavior and it’s perpetrated by one side. It started with crt and has move to mask mandates. 

[Fritz]

9 minutes ago, hshibley said:

Have you been to any of your local school board meetings recently? Ours here have become out of control with parents screaming nonstop and acting out to the point of the room being cleared by the sheriffs department several months in a row. Meetings have had to be stopped mid meeting because they could not insure the safety of the school board members and others attending the meetings. This is not normal behavior and it’s perpetrated by one side. It started with crt and has move to mask mandates. 

That justifies the involvement of the DOJ?

[TCB]

7 minutes ago, hshibley said:

Have you been to any of your local school board meetings recently? Ours here have become out of control with parents screaming nonstop and acting out to the point of the room being cleared by the sheriffs department several months in a row. Meetings have had to be stopped mid meeting because they could not insure the safety of the school board members and others attending the meetings. This is not normal behavior and it’s perpetrated by one side. It started with crt and has move to mask mandates. 

I agree. That’s what they’re like around here too. Not sure what the answer is, but I don’t think patently obvious biased rhetoric, from either side, is it. I wish that more measured voices could be heard in this country, but it seems the appetite is all for extremes.

[KSera]

2 minutes ago, Fritz said:

That justifies the involvement of the DOJ?

Does that level of danger at school board meetings seem normal and okay to you?

[Tanaqui]

2 minutes ago, TCB said:

I agree. That’s what they’re like around here too. Not sure what the answer is, but I don’t think patently obvious biased rhetoric, from either side, is it. I wish that more measured voices could be heard in this country, but it seems the appetite is all for extremes.

 

You think that "both sides" are equally engaging in this sort of behavior and ridiculous rhetoric?

Quote

That justifies the involvement of the DOJ?

What would you call the DOJ in for?

[Fritz]

So typical of this board, attack the source and not the content. Google for yourselves and you will find CRT has been rebranded as DEI. Parents are being told they have no right to know or have input into what their children are being taught (cue Terry McAuliffe) , and the DOJ has tasked the FBI with monitoring school board meetings. And teachers unions refuse to allow for school choice.

[TCB]

3 minutes ago, Tanaqui said:

 

You think that "both sides" are equally engaging in this sort of behavior and ridiculous rhetoric?

Maybe not about the same things, but I do think that people on both extremes are equally intolerant of the other side. I don’t think the answer lies on either extreme. I think it lies somewhere in the middle, where tolerance really can exist. If we are to live in a community we can’t have everything our own way. 

[SeaConquest]

24 minutes ago, hshibley said:

Have you been to any of your local school board meetings recently? Ours here have become out of control with parents screaming nonstop and acting out to the point of the room being cleared by the sheriffs department several months in a row. Meetings have had to be stopped mid meeting because they could not insure the safety of the school board members and others attending the meetings. This is not normal behavior and it’s perpetrated by one side. It started with crt and has move to mask mandates. 

I'll show you what they look like. The guy in the yellow was from ours in San Diego Unified. The United States has lost its ever loving mind.

 

Edited October 8, 2021 by SeaConquest

[Fritz]

6 minutes ago, KSera said:

Does that level of danger at school board meetings seem normal and okay to you?

Parents shouting and the police having to remove some folks? Not dangerous enough to involve the DOJ calling in the FBI. Yes, I think there are better ways of handling the meetings. Perhaps if the school boards were more concerned about getting the children in their schools up to grade level on the subjects they have been hired to teach there wouldn't be this about of outrage.

[SeaConquest]

Btw, Bryan Williams' complete deadpan humor of the situation had me nearly spitting my wine out my nose when I watched it:

 

Edited October 8, 2021 by SeaConquest

[KSera]

1 minute ago, Fritz said:

Perhaps if the school boards were more concerned about getting the children in their schools up to grade level on the subjects they have been hired to teach there wouldn't be this about of outrage.

Do you think the parents threatening violence in school board meetings have been concerned about the quality of teaching in their schools prior to this? That's not what I'm seeing. What I'm seeing are parents who have never attended a school board meeting until mask requirements were being considered for their schools, and that is what they are irate about. Then for some reason, they start talking about CRT in the same breath as mask mandates. No idea how those two things became wrapped up together for people. I'm not seeing anybody going to meetings this irate because of the horrendously bad math programs being adopted, or due to the teaching of sight words rather than phonics.

[SeaConquest]

5 minutes ago, Fritz said:

Parents shouting and the police having to remove some folks? Not dangerous enough to involve the DOJ calling in the FBI. Yes, I think there are better ways of handling the meetings. Perhaps if the school boards were more concerned about getting the children in their schools up to grade level on the subjects they have been hired to teach there wouldn't be this about of outrage.

School boards have been tasked with enforcing county/state mask mandates and implementing sex education and equity improvement programs. This *is* their job. Poor performance on literacy and math tests in public schools is not a new phenomenon; this level of insanity at school board meetings is. And, IMO it's pretty racist to suggest that CRT is somehow the problem here.

[Tanaqui]

15 minutes ago, Fritz said:

So typical of this board, attack the source and not the content. Google for yourselves and you will find CRT has been rebranded as DEI. Parents are being told they have no right to know or have input into what their children are being taught (cue Terry McAuliffe) , and the DOJ has tasked the FBI with monitoring school board meetings. And teachers unions refuse to allow for school choice.

I assure you, none of this is true. Literally none of it. I know that *because* I have done the research, and did more than simply glance at a few sources I liked.

[Tanaqui]

11 minutes ago, Fritz said:

Parents shouting and the police having to remove some folks? Not dangerous enough to involve the DOJ calling in the FBI. Yes, I think there are better ways of handling the meetings. Perhaps if the school boards were more concerned about getting the children in their schools up to grade level on the subjects they have been hired to teach there wouldn't be this about of outrage.

 

What about people assaulting teachers and other staff on school property? Bringing weapons on school property? You are being lied to, or you are actively being mendacious.

[Acadie]

4 minutes ago, KSera said:

Do you think the parents threatening violence in school board meetings have been concerned about the quality of teaching in their schools prior to this? That's not what I'm seeing. What I'm seeing are parents who have never attended a school board meeting until mask requirements were being considered for their schools, and that is what they are irate about. Then for some reason, they start talking about CRT in the same breath as mask mandates. No idea how those two things became wrapped up together for people. I'm not seeing anybody going to meetings this irate because of the horrendously bad math programs being adopted, or due to the teaching of sight words rather than phonics.

There's a slate of 3 candidates running together for the 3 open spots on our local schoolboard. One organized a protest of unmasked people in our public library, and when our awesome librarians asked them to please put on masks became so unruly that they had to be removed by the police.

Another signed an affidavit for an unrelated legal case saying he lived in a different state, one month before submitting his candidacy for school board here. He has no children in public school, and his eligibility to even run is currently being challenged.

The third signed on to run with these folks, and also has no children in public schools. 

So yeah, no history of caring about or working for better public education before now. 

[SeaConquest]

19 minutes ago, Fritz said:

So typical of this board, attack the source and not the content. Google for yourselves and you will find CRT has been rebranded as DEI. Parents are being told they have no right to know or have input into what their children are being taught (cue Terry McAuliffe) , and the DOJ has tasked the FBI with monitoring school board meetings. And teachers unions refuse to allow for school choice.

Pretty sure we are attacking both because, as is typical of you, your sources are usually unreliable and that's borne out by the concocted, fearmongering content they serve to their echo chambers.

[frogger]

I feel that CRT and mask mandates are totally different issues but it appears that America is big on group think. If I agree on one thing with this or that group, I must agree on everything with them. It is sad that people must be fed their thoughts. 

 

I doubt this will conversation will go anywhere. It has already conglomerated two totally unrelated things but I have to say it is helpful to read the history of the 1918 flu and how all the nut cases appeared out of the woodwork then. 

Oh and the Bible starts with Cain asking if he is his brother's keeper and John who wrote the last 4 books of the Bible saying, "He that loveth not is not of God for God is love." So I'm pretty sure that woman never actually read the Bible which has submitting to the needs of others from beginning to end. 

 

 

[KSera]

3 minutes ago, frogger said:

I have to say it is helpful to read the history of the 1918 flu and how all the nut cases appeared out of the woodwork then. 

Agree. There’s a book published in 2019 called The Psychology of Pandemics and it predicts all the same things we’ve seen, because it’s all happened before. I read an interview with the author from back in March 2020 when this was just starting, and already then he was suggesting people’s reluctance to get vaccinated once a vaccine was available would be a big risk factor in how long it took to get through it. On the other hand, at that point it also appeared he didn’t expect it to get nearly as bad as it has.

[RootAnn]

Biggest in-person turnout at a school board meeting here in the last couple of years wasn't over masking (although the zoom turnout was huge for that). It was after the school superintendent was shown on video making fun of students in his living room as he watched video recorded at the high school on his big screen TV along with the rest of his family. (Superintendent's son recorded his dad & mom making comments & laughing. Then, he sent the video out to his friends on snapchat.) Most of the people went to the meeting in support of the superintendent.

[Kassia]

CRT and mask mandates are definitely causing huge issues in our county and district.  In our little town, the BOE had to be escorted out of their last meeting(s) by police.  It's appalling how people are behaving.  

But I don't see why we need to get the federal government involved if local police can handle these issues.  

Hopefully, things will settle down soon.  The divisiveness in the community (and the country) is so ugly and upsetting. 

[Danae]

45 minutes ago, Fritz said:

So typical of this board, attack the source and not the content. Google for yourselves and you will find CRT has been rebranded as DEI. Parents are being told they have no right to know or have input into what their children are being taught (cue Terry McAuliffe) , and the DOJ has tasked the FBI with monitoring school board meetings. And teachers unions refuse to allow for school choice.

DEI policies have been around long before the hysteria over CRT.  More likely the racists attacking CRT are expanding their attack to try to coat all diversity initiatives with the poison they’ve created.

[frogger]

3 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

Biggest in-person turnout at a school board meeting here in the last couple of years wasn't over masking (although the zoom turnout was huge for that). It was after the school superintendent was shown on video making fun of students in his living room as he watched video recorded at the high school on his big screen TV along with the rest of his family. (Superintendent's son recorded his dad & mom making comments & laughing. Then, he sent the video out to his friends on snapchat.) Most of the people went to the meeting in support of the superintendent.

That is different all right. Sad

You must realize that is unusual though. At least I hope so. Our school district meetings and Assembly meetings have had way more mask comments and such. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TCB]

21 minutes ago, frogger said:

I feel that CRT and mask mandates are totally different issues but it appears that America is big on group think. If I agree on one thing with this or that group, I must agree on everything with them. It is sad that people must be fed their thoughts. 

 

I doubt this will conversation will go anywhere. It has already conglomerated two totally unrelated things but I have to say it is helpful to read the history of the 1918 flu and how all the nut cases appeared out of the woodwork then. 

Oh and the Bible starts with Cain asking if he is his brother's keeper and John who wrote the last 4 books of the Bible saying, "He that loveth not is not of God for God is love." So I'm pretty sure that woman never actually read the Bible which has submitting to the needs of others from beginning to end. 

 

 

Anyone thinking the Bible promotes people fighting for their individual rights, above all else, has not read it, or at least not understood it. In my opinion people get mixed up with what it means to be an American, and what it means to be a Christian. I find it really offensive to see that women attempting to use the Bible to defend her ideas and actions.

[frogger]

16 minutes ago, KSera said:

Agree. There’s a book published in 2019 called The Psychology of Pandemics and it predicts all the same things we’ve seen, because it’s all happened before. I read an interview with the author from back in March 2020 when this was just starting, and already then he was suggesting people’s reluctance to get vaccinated once a vaccine was available would be a big risk factor in how long it took to get through it. On the other hand, at that point it also appeared he didn’t expect it to get nearly as bad as it has.

Yikes that book is expensive!

[Spy Car]

1 hour ago, Fritz said:

That justifies the involvement of the DOJ?

What's wrong with you people?

Bill

[WildflowerMom]

1 hour ago, Fritz said:

So typical of this board, attack the source and not the content. Google for yourselves and you will find CRT has been rebranded as DEI. Parents are being told they have no right to know or have input into what their children are being taught (cue Terry McAuliffe) , and the DOJ has tasked the FBI with monitoring school board meetings. And teachers unions refuse to allow for school choice.

It's hard to pick which line to respond to here.  🤷🏻‍♀️

the school board meetings are outrageous right now in many parts of the country and the DOJ and/or FBI should be brought in.   Do you see the news at all?   (I'm not talking about those sources you referenced, btw).    Going to a school board member's home and yelling 'come out, I see you in there'.   Yeah, the FBI or DOJ needs to be involved.  

most of the mask people don't give a rat's a*s what's going on in the schools.   They never would've cared about masks being worn at certain parts of the day (like when their germy kid is in a filled classroom sitting 2 feet from multiple other germy kids who probably don't wash their hands half the time they use the bathroom, share drinks, get in each other's faces to talk, and wipes boogers on their clothes) if these extremists websites hadn't started pushing this new agenda.    
 

I almost wish all those parents would homeschool, but frankly being in that environment 24/7 is not going to end well for those children.  School is probably an escape for many of those kids.  
 

 

[RootAnn]

20 minutes ago, frogger said:

You must realize that is unusual though. At least I hope so. Our school district meetings and Assembly meetings have had way more mask comments and such. 

Everything about our little town is different than what is going on elsewhere. 

But, yeah, I follow the news.

[Dmmetler]

Let's also ignore that DEI isn't instructional. Rather, it's an evaluation process for schools (and businesses) to look at OUTCOMES related to specific groups and provide supports as needed, and is mandated by federal funding. For example, here is a summary of a report from my local school district. https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/6/1/22458832/4-important-insights-from-shelby-county-schools-pre-covid-equity-and-inclusion-survey

 

 

 

 

 

 

[WildflowerMom]

14 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

Everything about our little town is different than what is going on elsewhere. 

But, yeah, I follow the news.

Ours is too.   Really, the things I learn on this board...  jeez, I'm glad I live where I do.    Or maybe I'm just so crazily idealistic that I don't see things like other people do.   It's a huge flaw and I'm working on being more realistic, but damn, I don't wanna be.  

[frogger]

55 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

Everything about our little town is different than what is going on elsewhere. 

But, yeah, I follow the news.

I'm sad. I remember everyone pulling together and helping each other out after other emergencies like earthquakes. 

 It feels like I moved to some alternate timeline where people are all different. ☹️

 

 

[SeaConquest]

20 minutes ago, frogger said:

I'm sad. I remember everyone pulling together and helping each other out after other emergencies like earthquakes. 

 It feels like I moved to some alternate timeline where people are all different. ☹️

 

 

 

I've mentioned before my theory that Covid has done some serious neurological damage in the US. Like some kinda form of neuro syphilis, but Covid-related. We have so many people in the US that have had Covid and so many of these Covid + people have subsequently lost their minds. Like, it makes no sense to me how disconnected from reality our country has become. People want to blame FB/social media, but as others have said, there's social media in other parts of the world, but why has the US gone so completely off the rails? I think it has something to do with the amount of Covid allowed to run rampant here. I really have no other explanation for what is transpiring here. It can't all be Trump and Facebook, can it?  

[hshibley]

I do think for some of the participants this has become a form of entertainment. Egging each other on in the outrageous behavior. Finding like minded individuals who approve of this behavior.
 

If they were truly concerned about what was happening in the schools they would have run for school board. We just had elections last year.  But that would require work. Attending a meeting and shouting out of turn until the room is cleared is a lot easier. 

[Sneezyone]

15 minutes ago, hshibley said:

I do think for some of the participants this has become a form of entertainment. Egging each other on in the outrageous behavior. Finding like minded individuals who approve of this behavior.
 

If they were truly concerned about what was happening in the schools they would have run for school board. We just had elections last year.  But that would require work. Attending a meeting and shouting out of turn until the room is cleared is a lot easier. 

I did have concerns about COVID early last year as a result of my interactions with students in China but when I went to a school board/safety committee meeting, I was the only one to ask about precautions/potential actions. It was hardly boisterous tho and the only response to my inquiry was the closing of the schools. Seriously, they never responded directly to me.

[Elfknitter.#]

2 hours ago, Danae said:

DEI policies have been around long before the hysteria over CRT.  More likely the racists attacking CRT are expanding their attack to try to coat all diversity initiatives with the poison they’ve created.

Expanding on this with some definitions: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2021/07/22/critical-race-theory-defined/8045511002/

... and this from Massachusetts Association of School Committees: https://masc.org/images/news/2021/MASC_CRT_2021.pdf

[Sneezyone]

26 minutes ago, Elfknitter.# said:

Expanding on this with some definitions: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2021/07/22/critical-race-theory-defined/8045511002/

... and this from Massachusetts Association of School Committees: https://masc.org/images/news/2021/MASC_CRT_2021.pdf

I tried reframing the discussion around ACTUAL forms of culturally responsive teaching in the last thread OP started about this issue with mixed results. Good luck!

[rainbird2]

https://www.nbcnews.com/southlake-podcast

I listened to this a couple of weeks ago.  It's 6 episodes long, so not too daunting of a task to listen to the entire series.  I appreciated the perspective of the children and families involved who were asking for DEI curriculum in their schools.  There was no hidden agenda to make people feel bad.  They seemed to want people to understand the hurt they were experiencing and wanted to improve the community with the curriculum.

Fritz, I read the article you posted because I want to understand this perspective.  I challenge you to listen to this podcast and seek to understand the perspective of others who want DEI curriculum in their schools.  Then, maybe read a book about black history, like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Warmth-Other-Suns-Americas-Migration/dp/0679763880/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3HHDVC78E83ZO&dchild=1&keywords=the+warmth+of+other+suns&qid=1633724352&sprefix=the+warmth+%2Caps%2C236&sr=8-1

This idea that CRT is taught in K-12 schools, but now labeled under the guise of DEI, is utterly wrong.  Not only is it wrong, it is hurtful.  Children and families are hurting because of stuff like this.  BIPOC have been struggling for so long.  Why don't you seek first to understand before posting stuff like this?

 

 

[Happy2BaMom]

1 hour ago, SeaConquest said:

I've mentioned before my theory that Covid has done some serious neurological damage in the US. Like some kinda form of neuro syphilis, but Covid-related. We have so many people in the US that have had Covid and so many of these Covid + people have subsequently lost their minds. Like, it makes no sense to me how disconnected from reality our country has become. People want to blame FB/social media, but as others have said, there's social media in other parts of the world, but why has the US gone so completely off the rails? I think it has something to do with the amount of Covid allowed to run rampant here. I really have no other explanation for what is transpiring here. It can't all be Trump and Facebook, can it?  

You will be interested in this article then: Even Mild Cases of COVID May Leave a Mark on a Brain. Scary stuff - even mild changes can result in a visible (on an MRI) changes (decreases) in gray matter (you know, the cells/neurons in your brain). 

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, hshibley said:

 

If they were truly concerned about what was happening in the schools they would have run for school board. 

We have someone doing that here.  He's anti-mask and anti-CRT - to the extreme on both of these and posting things that aren't even true and refuses to take them down even after he is cornered and has to admit that what he posted is incorrect (how masks are dangerous).  

Our community is pretty conservative and extremely divided on covid issues like masks, quarantines, etc.  This election is making things even nastier than they already are.  

This candidate (and another one) homeschools his kids too so that is another whole issue that is coming up with people not trusting his motives since he doesn't have kids enrolled in the district.  

People are just so ignorant and ugly sometimes!  😞  

 

[SeaConquest]

9 minutes ago, Happy2BaMom said:

You will be interested in this article then: Even Mild Cases of COVID May Leave a Mark on a Brain. Scary stuff - even mild changes can result in a visible (on an MRI) changes (decreases) in gray matter (you know, the cells/neurons in your brain). 

I don't know how else to explain it other than something is happening to large swaths of our country neurologically. Too many people are falling prey to conspiracy theories and other manipulations that just defy logic. It's like you point out, it's almost like what you see in some elderly folks who begin to lack critical thinking and discernment, and fall for schemes meant to trick people in cognitive decline. And, if you have ever been around those in this state, they can be extremely hostile. It's very sad.  

Edited October 8, 2021 by SeaConquest

[Tanaqui]

It'd be a relief if this was covid-related, but honestly, a lot of this sort of radicalization and conspiracy-thinking has been going on for quite a while. Remember the "Birthers"?

This isn't new.

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, SeaConquest said:

I don't know how else to explain it other than something is happening to large swaths of our country neurologically. Too many people are falling prey to conspiracy theories and other manipulations that just defy logic. It's like you point out, it's almost like what you see in some elderly folks who begin to lack critical thinking and discernment, and fall for schemes meant to trick people in cognitive decline. And, if you have ever been around those in this state, they can be extremely hostile. It's very sad.  

To be fair I think things were heading in a weird direction even pre-Covid.  I suspect there’s a fair amount of divisiveness and disinformation spread by people who don’t have the US best interests at heart.

Not to say that Covid doesn’t have neurological impacts, of course.

[ktgrok]

My sister is a school administrator and yes, has seen an uptick in threats and slurs directed at her by parents, including being called a Nazi. 

[Eos]

3 hours ago, SeaConquest said:

It can't all be Trump and Facebook, can it?  

Yes.

[Kassia]

22 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

My sister is a school administrator and yes, has seen an uptick in threats and slurs directed at her by parents, including being called a Nazi. 

Awful.  😞

[Bootsie]

4 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

Let's also ignore that DEI isn't instructional. Rather, it's an evaluation process for schools (and businesses) to look at OUTCOMES related to specific groups and provide supports as needed, and is mandated by federal funding. For example, here is a summary of a report from my local school district. https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/6/1/22458832/4-important-insights-from-shelby-county-schools-pre-covid-equity-and-inclusion-survey

 

I am not sure I am following what you mean that DEU isn't instructional.  I am seeing:  DEI tied to learning outcomes for courses, courses that have student action steps tied to DEI, DEI being considered a core competency.  Those seem instructional rather than simply looking at outcomes of specific broups or providing support for those groups.  

[frogger]

6 hours ago, KSera said:

Agree. There’s a book published in 2019 called The Psychology of Pandemics and it predicts all the same things we’ve seen, because it’s all happened before. I read an interview with the author from back in March 2020 when this was just starting, and already then he was suggesting people’s reluctance to get vaccinated once a vaccine was available would be a big risk factor in how long it took to get through it. On the other hand, at that point it also appeared he didn’t expect it to get nearly as bad as it has.

Holy Cow! So I got this book today and have read about a quarter of it already and yes, this all happened before. Yes, even before Facebook. 

I mean I knew some of this history and that is why I brought it up but yikes, I feel like I could be reading a history of 20-21 except this was published in 2019. 

 

Sorry, I should quit interrupting since people went back on topic. I just found this fascinating. 

Edited October 8, 2021 by frogger
Apology added

[KSera]

24 minutes ago, frogger said:

Holy Cow! So I got this book today and have read about a quarter of it already and yes, this all happened before. Yes, even before Facebook. 

I mean I knew some of this history and that is why I brought it up but yikes, I feel like I could be reading a history of 20-21 except this was published in 2019. 

 

Sorry, I should quit interrupting since people went back on topic. I just found this fascinating. 

Did you find somewhere to get it for less than at Amazon? I'm impressed you got it so quickly and have already read so much! I've only read excerpts and interviews, but wacky, right? Apparently, people are so predictable (even when it comes to behaving in bizarre ways).