From: Kathleen A. Smith
Columbus
Suppose you own a small store on Washington Street and one morning you are the only one minding the shop. A black woman and a white woman walk into your store at the same time. Whom do you help first? Answer either way, and I will tell you exactly why you are a racist.
I am writing to rebut the recent letter-to-the-editor of McKenzie Copper, April 8, 2022, suggesting that our schools should teach critical race theory. Her letter states, “I have noticed that a mistrust of critical race theory stems from one of two places – a misunderstanding of what would be taught, or a disapproval of the information because of racism.” The writer uses the same tactic as CRT activists use to push their claims. You must agree with the activists or (1) you don’t understand because you haven’t done the work, or (2) you are a racist.
To understand CRT better, we will focus on one of several properties: race essentialism. CRT proposes to get rid of racism by focusing more on race. CRT denies the individual and instead favors group identity. Critical race theorists assign each person traits based only on his membership in certain identity groups. To be considered truly black, a black person must think as the theorists do. He must think as he is told to think. (As President Biden said in his campaign, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”) Any deviation or independent thought is traitorous. CRT activists say things like “whites do this” or “Blacks think this.” CRT sees racism as the ordinary state of things, not as an aberration. CRT sees racism in every interaction, situation, rule or law. It is the very opposite of what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed. CRT advocates belittle King and make fun of his quest for a color-blind society.
Because critical race theory is a movement of activists, it combines theory with action. CRT isn’t necessarily being taught in our schools. I don’t believe that our teachers are discussing post-modernism and Michel Foucault or talking about Derrick Bell and Kimberle’ Krenshaw. CRT is being practiced in our schools. It is being practiced on our children, in our schools. CRT makes black children feel they can never succeed, and it makes white children feel guilty just for being.
The answer to the initial question:
If you, the store owner, help the black woman first, you are a racist, because that means you don’t trust a black person to be left unattended in your store for fear she might steal.
If you help the white woman first, you are a racist, because that means you don’t think that the black woman is as good as the white woman and isn’t deserving of your attention.
Welcome to critical race theory.
