Transcript for Podcast: "I Feel Snitty," Episode 169: "I do not think CRT means what the GOP thinks it means." is now available!

Podcast: I Feel Snitty

Episode 169: I do not think CRT means what the GOP thinks it means.

Premiere Date: 11/17/21

Length: 5:38 (874 words)

Link: https://ifeelsnitty.podbean.com/e/i-do-not-think-crt-means-what-the-gop-thinks-it-means/

Transcript: 

Welcome to I Feel Snitty, episode 169, entitled, “I do not think CRT means what the GOP thinks it means.” I’m your host, Craig Rozniecki.

Whenever someone repeatedly misuses a word, I refer to the occasion as a Princess Bride moment, because of the famous back-and-forth between Mandy Patinkin’s Inigo Montoya and Wallace Shawn’s Vizzini in the 1987 Rob Reiner classic.

Vizzini: “INCONCEIVABLE!”

Montoya: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

The latest such example of this is with regard to CRT, or Critical Race Theory.

Here’s what some Republicans have had to say on the matter:

Ted Cruz: “It’s every bit as racist as the Klansmen in white sheets.”

Lauren Boebert: “It’s a lie, racist, and teaches children to hate each other.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene: “It’s completely evil; should be outlawed across the country; and any teachers found teaching it should be fired immediately.”

Now here’s what Republicans actually know about the theory:

Louie Gohmert: “You give me a definition and I’ll tell you if I agree with it.”

In other words, most Republican politicians may claim to possess strong opinions on CRT, but they have zero knowledge of what it actually is. Crazily enough, some GOP-led states have attempted to ban Critical Race Theory from being taught in K-12 public schools. I say “crazily,” because the fact of the matter is Critical Race Theory is only taught in law school. No, I don’t know any kindergarteners in law school either.

Sadly, it seems like many Americans are believing the gobbledygook they’re being fed by right-wing politicians and media personalities regarding CRT. According to a summer poll conducted by Reuters, approximately one-fourth of those familiar with the theory believe it’s being taught in public schools.

So, what is Critical Race Theory? The GOP makes it seem like it’s a contemporary term invented by a woke-mob known as antifa.

CRT has actually been around for more than 40 years. It began in the 1970s with the writings of several legal scholars, including Derrick Bell, Richard Delgado, Alan Freeman, and others, only to become more prominent in law school studies in the following decades. What it sets out to do is study systemic racism. It doesn’t proclaim that white people are racist. What it does do is look at the long-term effects of slavery and how many of our long-held institutions and policies have treated persons of color starkly different than white people - especially our criminal justice system. You don’t remember learning this in kindergarten either, do you?

“Okay, class. After I hand out your milk and cookies, take a seat, and I’ll read to you the books: The Cat in the Hat, Hands Are Not For Hitting, and Enslaved By Our Institutions: 10 Years to Life For Possessing a Doobie.

In all seriousness, though, persons of color have historically been punished more severely for equal crimes as white people. They’ve been profiled to a much greater extent. Their education and employment opportunities have not been equal on the whole. How can we utter with a straight face that systemic racism doesn’t exist and why should CRT not be a permitted topic of study and discussion in law school?

Here’s the truth: the GOP tries to find any and every avenue which could potentially strike fear into the minds of white people. The latest bogeyman is Critical Race Theory. I say bogeyman, because it doesn’t exist in K-12 public schools. There is overlap with the topic of slavery, however. So what are social studies and history teachers supposed to do if their Republican governors sign a bill banning CRT from being taught in the classrooms since said GOPers are ignorant of the theory, and provided a vague definition of it in the bill? There have already been reports of such teachers becoming hesitant on teaching the history of slavery in this country due to it, for fear of losing their jobs.

Take a step back and think about this for a second here. Critical Race Theory isn’t being taught in K-12 public schools. Republican politicians don’t know what Critical Race Theory is. These same Republican politicians are claiming that Critical Race Theory is dangerous and is being taught in K-12 public schools. As a result, white parents who don’t know what Critical Race Theory is and don’t realize their Republican leaders don’t know what it is either are protesting to stop the teaching of Critical Race Theory to their children when Critical Race Theory isn’t being taught to their children. Got that? Good.

On that note, here are the Top Ten Things Stupid Angry White Parents Will Protest in the Future:

10. Chafing the stick penalties in hockey

9. Coldplay metal albums

8. Tear-Down-the-Wall tequila in Jack and Cokes

7. Nintendo Wii Wii

6. Easter Bunny-hunting season

5. A drag queen of hearts in a deck of cards

4. Bad hair-day vaccines

3. Communist Chest in Monopoly

2. Barack Obama’s face on a $45 bill

1. (drumroll) The film Godfather IV: Don’t F*ck With Fauci

That’s it for today’s episode. Until next time, you can check me out on Podbean, Twitter, Amazon, and Blogger. This has been I Feel Snitty with Craig Rozniecki. Take care.