Briefly Noted: Tentative Signs Of Hope?

Will Leftist excesses finally make a difference? It's too early to tell, but there is an election coming up in the not too distant future, and the amount and degree of craziness on the Left shows no signs of abating or receding. Here are a few items that indicate that more and more people are taking notice.

Recently we ran a long post regarding the degree of wokeness being jammed down students' throats--even at expensive private schools. The wokeness is also being jammed down the parents' throats, and they're not all pleased. At The Atlantic Conor Friedersdorf expresses misgivings about what's going on, with specific reference to the most dominant form of wokeness:

What Happens When a Slogan Becomes the Curriculum?

A curriculum inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement is spreading, raising questions about the line between education and indoctrination.

Don Surber has a very nice examination of the article: BLM and the limits of propaganda, with long quotes from the article itself:

"The BLM at School movement is gaining momentum in Democratic strongholds around the country, where millions have felt impelled to respond to the high-profile police killings of Black Americans and the inequities that such incidents expose. Parents and educators in these enclaves are largely united in believing that Black lives matter, and that schools should encourage students of all ages to reject racism and remedy its injustices, much as previous generations of schoolchildren were taught to 'Just Say No to Drugs' and to 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.' "

...

What BLM is selling is self-hatred to white people. Good luck with that. It is Hitler trying to sell Nazism to Jews.

Which is why Friedersdorf wrote, "In all such campaigns, a distinction can be drawn between the galvanizing slogan, which by design is popular and difficult to oppose, and the ideological and policy goals of the people promoting it. In other words, people might believe deeply that Black lives matter while disagreeing with Black Lives Matter organizers about specific claims. But for the BLM at School movement, agreeing with the broad slogan implies a particular approach to anti-racist activism—one that draws on academic approaches such as critical race theory and intersectionality; rejects individualism and aspirational color-blindness; and acts in solidarity with projects including decoloniality, anti-capitalism, and queer liberation."

But certainly not necessarily in that order at all.

50 years ago, when I was 17 and in high school, I thought we would be rid of racism because all the old stupid white men -- Bull Connor and his ilk -- would be dead.

I did not realize at the time that they would be replaced by old black men -- Jim Clyburn and his ilk -- who profit from racial politics."

Will white suburbanites finally catch on to this? There may be hope if articles like that are turning up in The Atlantic.

Meanwhile, a group that's starting to take notice is "Asian" Americans. The author of this article at The Federalist specifically states that those taking notice are both "South" Asians and "East" Asians:

Leftists Are Pushing Asian Americans Out Of The Democratic Party

The words of diversity ring hollow, as hard-working Asians from every socio-economic background, with stable family structure and strong disciplined work ethic, face discrimination.

The electoral results in this demographic--or cluster of demographics, to be more precise--wasn't overwhelming in Election 2020, but there was some movement in some of those clusters, although not necessarily related to the issues the author raises. Nevertheless, I do highly recommend the article, which begins with some disturbing reflections on violence being directed against East Asians in particular. 

The author then moves on to an issue that hits home with Asian Americans--education and, specifically, admission to elite programs. Asians see education as the way to success in America, and their success in that regard is fueling resentment. There have been some high profile lawsuits by Asian American groups seeking to fight back, but in America the most effective pushback is often at the ballot box--which may offer some hope as Asian American awareness of liberal discrimination rises. Asian Americans are increasingly aware of what Critical Race Theory really means:

The Chinese American Citizens Alliance of Greater New York (CACAGNY) issued a statement, completely ignored by corporate media, calling critical race theory (CRT) a hate crime against Asians.

“One way or another, CRT wants to get rid of too many Asians in good schools. Asians are over-represented. CRT is today’s Chinese Exclusion Act. CRT is the real hate crime against Asians,” the statement read, adding that “CRT appears in our workplaces under the cover of implicit bias/sensitivity training. It infiltrates our schools pretending to be culturally/ethnically responsive pedagogy, with curricula such as the New York Times’ 1619 Project and Seattle’s ethnomathematics.”

The specific references in the Chinese American statement are, without any doubt, very pointed.

 

CRT activists push for lowering admission standards and the removal of merit-based entrance exams, alarming Asian parents who know that means fewer admissions for qualified Asian students. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio even went as far as proposing an admission process based on race in an attempt to prevent “too many Asians” in NYC’s elite schools. Asian Americans are taking note of which side these proposals are coming from.

What we are observing is the first spark of a reactionary pan-Asian class consciousness, and the realization that Asian Americans (including both East and South Asians) perhaps do not belong in the Democratic Party. Leftists’ words of diversity clearly ring hollow, as hard-working Asians from every socio-economic background, with stable family structures and strong disciplined work ethic, face discrimination.

This discrimination ranges from the abolition of gifted programs in [secondary] schools, where Asians earn a larger portion of the student pool than their percentage of the population, to universities, where Asians face direct discrimination in admissions as they score high in standard admission tests.

I guess I'll believe it when I see it, but every movemet has to start somewhere.

Finally, as the MSM has been reporting more and more parent and student led protests, demanding that schools reopen, the unionized government teachers continue to stiff their constituents. Those constituents are now being treated to items like this one:

California schools are using COVID relief for teacher bonuses and a union joked they should use handouts for a 'trip to HAWAII' - even though classrooms are still closed

UK Daily Mail ^ | March 15 2021 | ADAM SCHRADER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS

California schools are using COVID relief payments for teacher bonuses and a union has jokingly requested a trip to Hawaii using the money - even as classrooms are still closed, internal memos have revealed.

Ha ha! Great joke, right? Except that there have been repeated stories documenting government teachers actually taking those exotic vacations.

 

The memos, shared online by the group Reopen California Schools, appear to show that some school districts have been using state and federal COVID relief money on educator bonuses instead of getting kids back into classrooms.

'I've been inundated with reports of school districts spending state and federal COVID relief money on substantial one-time bonuses to teachers and administrators instead of spending them on getting kids back in classrooms or to curb learning loss,' the group tweeted.

When you're government employees and are unionized the concept of retaining customer good will doesn't come naturally. It has to be learned. There are at least some signs that that learning experience may be coming. The good will is definitely being put to a severe test, and there's only one party in our two party system that will pay a price for that.

We shall see. Election 2022, here we come.