The tsunami of rightwing attacks against “critical race theory” didn’t come from nowhere, or happen by spontaneous combustion.
It’s the brainchild of a very smart conservative activist named Christopher Rufo, who has Seattle connections.
Rufo, 37, a California native, graduated from Georgetown University’s prestigious School of Foreign Service, which trains America’s diplomatic corps, but instead of going into public service his career path has taken him into politics, via a path through rightwing think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, Claremont Institute, and Seattle-based Discovery Institution, which is chiefly famous for advocating the teaching of Christian-based “intelligent design” instead of science-based evolution in public schools.
The Claremont Institute has been in the news recently because one of its fellows, John Eastman, laid the legal groundwork for a Trump coup after he lost the 2020 election (see article here).
Rufo obviously is a bright guy, but he’s also unabashedly unscrupulous — and admits it. He’s the tip of the spear in the rightwing’s attack on critical race theory.
CRT is an academic subject taught in graduate schools. Wikipedia says (here), “Critical race theory considers the idea that racism is systemic in the United States (not just a collection of individual prejudices).” I’m not familiar with that field of study, but I think I’d word that as, “CRT examines the idea of whether racism is systemic in the U.S.,” given my prejudice that academic study should be inquiring and open-minded. It’s possible academia approaches the subject with more certitude, and if so, possibly that’s open to criticism — I don’t know.
But CRT doesn’t have a damn thing to do with teaching kids in public schools.
Rufo knows that. Wikipedia (citing sources) says, “Rufo described his strategy to oppose critical race theory as intentionally using the term to conflate various left-wing race-related ideas in order to create a negative association. Rufo said that ‘[w]e will eventually turn [critical race theory] toxic …. The goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think ‘critical race theory.'” That isn’t legitimate academically-minded challenge or pushback; it’s a sleazy and intellectually dishonest political strategy whose practical effect is to advance the cause of white nationalism.
That Rufo embraces the political right’s white supremacy agenda is clear and unambiguous. The Wikipedia article continues (again footnoting to sources), “Through interviews with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, Rufo reportedly influenced the Donald Trump administration to issue an executive order to prohibit federal agencies from having diversity training that addressed topics such as systemic racism, white privilege and critical race theory. The administration described it as ‘divisive, anti-American propaganda.'”
The reality is they don’t want people to talk about it, because they’re guilty of it. Trump’s administration was openly racist.
Rufo isn’t just intellectually dishonest; he’s a liar. Wikipedia again (with more sources):
“According to the Washington Post, Snopes and New York (magazine), Rufo has misrepresented contents of diversity training programs and course curricula. For example, Rufo falsely claimed that a diversity consultant hired by the Treasury Department had ‘told employees essentially that America was a fundamentally white supremacist country,’ and urged them to ‘accept their white racial superiority’; however, the diversity consultant had said no such thing. … Rufo has also falsely claimed that a course curriculum in California called on students to honor the Aztec gods of human sacrifice and to commit ‘countergenocide’ against white Christians, which the curriculum did not do. He also falsely claimed that a document by an Oregon school district ‘calls for adopting the educational theories of Brazilian Marxist Paulo Freire’ and advocates turning students against the Marxist ‘revolution’s enemies’ and into the ‘liberated masses’. However, the document had no reference to revolution, its enemies, or the liberated masses. It only referenced Freire’s call to treat education as an act of liberation and mutual humanization. Rufo claimed that staff resources at the school district ‘assumes’ that whites are born racist; however, the document only urged teachers to move beyond the ‘belief that you aren’t racist if you don’t purposely or consciously act in racist ways.'”
These are extremely inflammatory statements, with potential to stir up actual political violence. If this is what people are being told, it’s no surprise that we have angry mobs showing up at school board meetings yelling about a subject that isn’t taught in public schools and threatening school administrators. It’s dangerous and irresponsible in the extreme.
In 2018, Rufo tried to run for Seattle City Council, but withdrew from the race because of harassment and threats (see story here). It’s not surprising that Rufo’s style and brand of politics wouldn’t be well-received in a place like Seattle, but that’s never called for. Liberals need to set an example of civility, and deal with people like Rufo and toxic ideas like his in debates and at the ballot box. They must resist, at all costs, the temptation to lower themselves to Rufo’s level.
It’s hard to paint Rufo as personally a racist or white supremacist, given he’s married to a person of color (see photo of his family at left). His wife is “Suphatra Kip Paravichai, a Thai-American who was once a computer programmer at Amazon Web Services,” according to Wikipedia.
Which makes it all the harder to understand his motives, because he’s clearly stoking America’s racist fires. It can’t be intellectually driven; if he had a legitimate point to make, he wouldn’t have to promote it with lies and vicious propaganda.
What does he get out of it? Most likely a hefty paycheck from those well-funded rightwing think tanks, which makes him a cynical mercenary in the service of America’s racist right.
America isn’t a “fundamentally white supremacist country,” no thanks to him and his ilk. That’s because there are millions of decent-minded Americans who want to treat people right, who are repulsed by Rufo and the racist mobs he incites.
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Related article: Rufo’s war against American institutions (read it here)
Looks like politics to me which suggest the foundations of critical race theory really do mean it is more theory than reality. Which should force other ways of looking at and dealing with unequal outcomes. Not that in reality Marx’s true followers have really set aside race in those places where Communism has been tries. Mao’s ideas of China’s unique brand of communism might be a bit or a lot racist, and stands in opposition to a pure class struggle.
Could be the issues are the outcomes of democracy. The majority being white Anglo Saxons for centuries dominated culturally, economically and politicly in a democratic system that has allowed the similar to easily transfer into the system and given the dissimilar a much harder time. ie playground rules for all the kiddies of the USA.