Tucker Carlson's Right to be Afraid
and why that's a good thing for CRT in education
Dear friends and fam,
This week our GWM (Generic White Man) is Tucker Carlson, who said that CRT in the classrooms is leading to "anti-white mania" because "lunatics are running the classrooms." Lolzzzz when I read that, I raised my hand in the air as if he had called on me. Guilty as charged, I am your best fantasy and your worst nightmare, asshat.
As someone who has been personally condescended to by being told, AND I QUOTE, to go read “real history, like Tucker Carlson” in a fit of mansplaining extraordinaire on the part of a cousin (s/o to all the whites out there with similar problematic family tree off-shoots). At the time, luckily, I was thinking on my feet and I quipped back “Don’t bring a butter knife to a gun show, son. I have a Ph.D. and read real historians,” and as such, I explained that I didn’t think it was fair to debate him until he learned him some real knowledge, written by academics, not cherub-faced asshats. This was the first skirmish that has since transformed into a long cold war (this said cuz has professed to never talk to me again and may we all pray to Audre Lorde that he sticks to his word. This promise was based on our last interaction, where I pointed to some deeply problematic behavior and ideological beliefs that suggested he might be (gasp!) racist, which really hurt his feelings). Unless you haven’t guessed, I come from a long line of know-it-alls, it’s just that I’ve outranked this particular one educationally. But I’m a woman, and a lesbian, so it doesn’t really count.
Last week, as I frantically raced through “finishing” a 1,500-word overview for this little book I wrote about white saviors, little Tucker’s dumb ass face graced my feed and I giggled with churlish delight and scribbled on my to-do list: “Tucker Carlson is right to be afraid.”
(of people like me)
The revolution/reckoning/race war is coming, and his brand of whiteness is, statistically, a minority in this country. Poor thing.
And with any luck, with enough white traitors like myself, we can amplify Black voices and Black futures (they are the same thing). And there is no room for Tucker Carlson’s or arrogant family members who mistake white privilege for intelligence.
Carlson is intentionally divisive. It’s all a part of his sick game. He divides families and probably single handedly has ruined many a family Thanksgiving.
Here’s why our GWM Tucker should be afraid of CRT in the classroom:
“As the classroom becomes more diverse, teachers are faced with the way the politics of domination are often reproduced in the educational setting.” - bell hooks
This is what "CRT in the classroom does," heaven forbid.
The use of what the U.S. has decided to give the obnoxious acronym of CRT, or theories on critical race studies, allows teachers and students to explore history, science, literature, and even math, through an understanding that white supremacy is maintained through violent domination and exploitation. So basically, it calls for historical accuracy. Viewed through this lens, CRT in the classroom is at least honest in what hooks reminds us: “no education is politically neutral.”
CRT in the classroom seeks to uplift Black and BIPOC voices, contributions, and histories for all students, not just white ones. This is what Tucker has decided to fearmonger on, and damn if that isn’t telling: according to him, if you want to uplift Black voices and histories, you represent everything evil and wrong with ‘Murica. Mmk, buddy.
Tucker and his hos and bros can continue to stir up debate around CRT, but as @teachfortheculture so astutely pointed out, all he’s doing is educating Americans about the existence of CRT.
There are always two sides to deliberately divisive statements, and in the world ruled by social media and likes, sometimes you inadvertently end up deifying the very thing you profess to hate. Maybe if our boy Tucker read some real history books, or applied critical thinking skills gleaned from studying anything at the college level, he wouldn’t have walked right into the path that will inevitably leave him as barely a footnote as an example of how backward America was in the early 21st century.
So, let him rant and rave. And as he does so, just remember, he’s rubber and CRT is glue: what he says bounces off of CRT and sticks to him.
Viva la revolución,
Allison
NSFS: Not Safe for School, your snark-filled antidote to racism and corruption in education. Follow @postphdtheblog on Twitter and @allisonharbin_postphd on Instagram
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