In yet another use of postmodernist semiotics and “critical theory” – the ideas that words can be defined to mean anything (especially to gain political leverage) and that the people saying or writing those words can be claimed to have “hidden” meanings or “inherent and unrecognized biases” behind their statements -- a “diversity” advisor hired by the Hermosa Beach City School District in Hermosa Beach, California, has claimed that all white people are inherently racist, and, of course, most just don’t know it.
Which, curiously, appears to be a racist statement unto itself, but, evidently, neither this “advisor” nor the board care.
Would they notice if this “diversity expert” blurted, as Karl Marx had claimed, that Jewish people were focused on “huckstering,” or she had said something about one racial group or another liking a certain kind of food?
Don’t look for any signs that the political class get any of this larger point.
Instead, when tax-paying parents found out about this “expert” and they voiced their disapproval, the bureaucrats circled the proverbial bureaucratic wagons and, of course, implied that those who criticize their decision are…inherently racist.
As Jennifer Kabbany writes for The College Fix:
(T)he school board members who made the decision to hire Loyola Marymount University psychology Professor Sheri Atwater to serve as the district’s diversity, equity and inclusion consultant stand behind their decision, according to their public comments at their May 12 meeting.
One board member accused parents who stood in opposition to the hire of living in an echo chamber, while others suggested the concerned parents simply misunderstand the lessons and goals of the diversity, equity and inclusion curriculum.
Because nothing says “diversity” like forcing a one-size-fits-all, tax-funded pedagogy on kids and tax slaves.
Does irony ever register to these political functionaries and Ms. Atwater?
Possibly not, for Kabbany continues:
Atwater, in response to the concerns, said she would not use ‘shame or guilt’ when she teaches on topics such as race, color blindness, implicit bias and similar topics, according to the video of the school board meeting.
Atwater also said during the meeting that what she trains on is not ‘critical race theory.’ But the scholar’s published works include weighing in on ‘whiteness norms … that systemically benefit white people’ and arguments against a color-blind society, according to her faculty bio.
Parents are not backing down. Adds Kabbany:
One Hermosa Beach citizen, Matt McCool, who has been vocal against the Hermosa Beach City School District’s push for DEI training, posted a video of Atwater in which she explains how in her trainings she gently guides people to understand they are racist even if they think they are not:
And that video included Atwater saying:
You can’t tell me that you’re not racist, unconsciously.
Which sure is an easily wielded weapon for the politically-minded who preys on taxpayers to fund the political system.
Should the taxpayer protest, just employ said accusation of “unconscious racism” and you’re all set.
Kabbany also notes:
Atwater was hired as part of the school district’s push to advance an ‘equity’ agenda, its website states.
The school district and its board members stand accused of violating the open meeting laws of California for not reading out loud parents’ written comments against Atwater’s hiring at its April meeting.
Again, because nothing says “diversity” better than excluding the earnest protestations of those who are forced to feed the political beast.
Related: Chicago Teachers’ Strike Reveals Forgotten US History: Government Isn’t Needed To Care For Kids
If only there were another way, some system that would allow people to avoid being mindlessly maligned even as their money is taken. If only kids could be educated rather than indoctrinated and pushed towards becoming the next generation of political vultures.
If only folks could be free to send their kids and their money to school systems they chose, rather than those that insulted them even as they bled their earnings.
American history shows us that education was not always conducted via government. It was private, and literacy and numeracy were high.
Why not let parents and kids be free of government schooling, rather than continue this form of enslavement and indoctrination?
Related: CA Board Of Education To Vote On Having Kids Chant Prayers To Aztec God Of Human Sacrifice