Sometimes the left gets caught acting like itself in public. That's when you have to spin, spin really hard.
One high school teacher’s bold premise – that "all white people are racist, period"– is reigniting discussion about how difficult it is to talk about race in school classrooms.
That's a bold premise alright. Much like the bold premise that all black people are racially inferior and all Jews have to be killed. It's a "bold" premise that's "igniting" discussion in Oceania.
The teacher, James Coursey, appeared to try to draw his classroom into this national conversation. Some education experts applaud Mr. Coursey and others’ efforts to engage students in what can be a challenging dialogue.
It's a national conversation... demonizing an entire race. It's a "challenging" dialogue declaring that all white people are all. It's the sort of bold premise sure to ignite conversations and burning crosses.
In a statement, Joe Siano, the superintendent of the school district, agreed that the discussion could have been handled better but emphasized the subject should still be a conversation in classrooms.
If a teacher had announced that all black people are evil, somehow I think the response would be a smidge different. And we wouldn't be calling it a bold national conversation starter. That's what fellow travelers call someone they agree with, but who isn't cautious enough.
"Racism is an important topic that we discuss in our schools," said Dr. Siano. "While discussing a variety of philosophical perspectives on culture, race and ethics, a teacher was attempting to convey to students in an elective philosophy course a perspective that had been shared at a university lecture he had attended."
His perspective is that all white people are evil. It's just a perspective. Just like the perspectives that many racists have. But some racist narratives are so privileges that they are taught in schools and defended by the press as bold igniting premises.