By: Mark Glennon*
Congressman Sean Casten has a new video out on how opponents of Critical Race Theory are just “right-wing fear-mongers” who are “afraid of facing hard truths…a certain subset of white men who are petrified to live in a world where they might be judged by the content of their character.”
It’s worth going through the specific claims in Casten’s video, to the extent it contains anything concrete, because those claims are now often used to defend the framework commonly labeled as CRT — Critical Race Theory.
CRT opponents are “afraid of the will of the majority,” Casten says. Opposition is from “a small minority of Americans who might want to repeat the mistakes of our racist past.”
We are now hearing much the same from other CRT defenders. Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote recently that the CRT debate is “not a debate in the educated parts of the country,” just in “red state backwaters.” And the CRT’s leading guru, Ibram X. Kendi, wrote last month that critics’ “American dream” is “that they have the civil right to kill black Americans with impunity and that black Americans do not have the human right to live.”
Do majorities in fact support CRT, as Casten and others claim? Ad populum arguments should mean nothing, but if that’s how Casten wants to make his case, let’s go there.
Start with the polls.
Recent polls by Economist/YouGov and Competitive Edge Research show that overwhelming majorities oppose CRT. The newest poll is from Fox News, which found that majorities of those familiar with CRT say it does not accurately show how America works, and they want CRT out of our schools. Most notably, independents oppose CRT by nearly two-to-one, that poll found.
And is opposition limited to “red state backwaters” and KKK-types as Steinberg, Casten, Kendi and many others say?
Maybe they should try a Google search. A day hardly passes without news of intense opposition to CRT popping up across the country, particularly at school boards, in left and right leaning communities alike. At least 23 states have passed or are considering bans or limitations on CRT in schools. Some of the most intense opposition has been in blue Louden County, Virginia and at expensive private schools in liberal Manhattan.
Here in Illinois, ultra-left Evanston is the target of what’s likely to become a landmark federal lawsuit over CRT. New Trier Neighbors, a nonprofit group in suburban Chicago, helped inspire Parents Defending Education, an umbrella group in Washington, D.C. that supports local efforts around the nation.
How about Casten’s claim that opposition to CRT is coming only from “a certain subset of white men who are petrified to live in a world where they might be judged by the content of their character”?
Tell that to the growing list of black scholars and activists who oppose CRT. Watch the splendid video of some of them released as an Independence Day message. Watch the video of Ty Smith, the black man who spoke up against CRT before a Bloomington school board, which made headlines around the country and was viewed more than two million times on Twitter alone.
Casten’s video goes on to show a segment of the recent testimony of General Mark Milley, who defended inclusion of a CRT book as recommended reading for the military by saying, “I want to understand it, so, it so what is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America?.” Not true. Far fewer than a thousand entered the Capitol Building on January 6. All were trespassers and rioters and some intended to interrupt the certification of electoral votes, but there’s no evidence to support Milley’s far more sweeping claim.
Finally, Casten invoked Martin Luther King, which took real nerve because CRT is widely and correctly seen as directly hostile to King’s views on race, particularly the goal of color blindness, which CRT rejects.
CRT is not about content of character but about skin color only. All blacks are indelibly oppressed, it holds, and all whites are indelibly oppressors. Whites are implicitly if not explicitly biased, as CRT is routinely taught in our schools. Whites, therefore, should be discriminated against. Here are Kendi’s own words: “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.”
But take Casten up anyway on his claim that he believes content of character, not race, should be the test. What’s the content of his character?
He’s dishonest, and so are they others trying to defend CRT in the manner he does. Dishonest.
*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
He’s got a nice vague look in his eyes.
Has anyone check to see if Sean Casten Is a card carrying CCP member?? This is a color revolution designed to conquer and divide, straight out of the Marxist playbook. There’s a good chance that he was planted there to do this exact thing, The CCP has infiltrated our country our schools our universities our government, big media and big tech. I don’t buy into it for one second that he believes any of this crap, But I do know that there’s a lot of stupid woke white liberals who do. This needs to be fought on every level in… Read more »
You give him too much credit. He’s just an idiot.
I can not find the words to explain my disgust for Casten and his comments. No respect for people that have an opposing thought or opinion. And to twist the work of MLK to fit his own narrative is shameful. Just name calling, insults, and lies; a child’s way of making an argument.
All CRT defenders are using the same motte-and-bailey tactics. Not buying it.
Casten is playing a dangerous game. His constituents are moderate Democrats who are realizing their high property taxes paid for a lost year of education. He’s stupid to alienate middle-class parents.
The boy is a gutless wonder. Socialist puke. We need to get him out of office.
This man is insane! What happened to judging people by the content of their character? Casting is a greedy, power hungry, liar! Unfortunately I live in his district
His dopey, empty face speaks volumes.
It would be interesting to bring a defamation suit against this speaker. He seems to meet the standards required by law, including malice: he knew or should have known that people cannot be assumed to be racist-wishful-murderers based solely upon their skin color or political affiliation.
Although I suppose he could raise a defense against the malice standard by affirming that he himself is an unapologetic and uneducated racist.
Critical race theory is a poisonous extension of identity politics which values immutable identity characteristics over content of character. It teaches that all whites are collectively guilty for previous racism against blacks. It views people as monolithic members of an identity group instead of as unique individuals. It teaches concepts of group guilt, group privilege, and group victimhood. It prescribes group entitlement for perceived victim classes to correct for wrongs committed by previous generations. Critical race theory breeds hatred and we cannot tolerate it being taught to anyone whatsoever. Critical race theory needs to be fought against at the school… Read more »
Figures, his constuency are the thousands of woke white suburban housewives buying into CRT.
I’m a white suburban housewife and I can’t agree with you more! I have to keep my mouth closed when I am with my neighbors and other moms from my kids schools. They are so shallow but think they are so wonderful and compassionate. They rattle off these feel goody things that they get from things like this from Casten and are so smug about it and think they are so superior. I really think they are the dumbest of all our voters.
Mother did say “if you have nothing nice to say then say nothing at all”, however, in this instance, you need to speak up to those shallow, smug Casten moms, or count yourself among the problem.
He, like many others keenly speak to the *itching ears* of their base, who are eager to believe that *someone else* is to blame for their situation, rather than take accountability for themselves…
YEP!!-poor me,im black or hispanic and ” the white men” are suppressing me-too stupid to realize they suppress themselves with welfare,linc cards,and constant criminal behaviour,but its easier to blame everyone else instead of accountability for thier own life choices-boo hoo
This Casten is a clown and dope! He will be gone soon enough.
I sure hope
Don’t be so sure. Shame on the idiots who keep voting fo this supreme idiot!
Kasten knows he is either lying to placate his base of voters or is simply too obtuse to understand the drivel he spews.
Either way, he is unfit for is job. Like most of the “elected” goofs from Illinois.
So right.
CRT is a regressive indoctrination of our children and the American people as a whole. It is going back to Jim Crow type thinking in which we look at skin color first, then make stereotypical judgments about people considering race first and personal characteristics last!!
This weak kneed spineless little twit is just another in the long list of political liars,he probably also agrees with biden that the biggest threat in america today is ” white supremacists”-I cant speak for you all but EVERY single night I watch the news all I see are black people commiting crimes and causing most of the chaos in large cities.I havent seen to many crimes caused by ” white supremists”.
Maybe we should be calling it black supremacist, black supremacy.
You are so right.
Benign-sounding statements principle seldom correspond with reality because those principles fail to encompass the “whole story.” Look no further than how Illinois courts have expanded the notion of “promise-keeping” to public pensions. Boy scout oaths and fidelity in marriage (like freeway speed limits) are seldom observed or enforced because sensible people understand how “ideals” function. It may not be harmful for preachers and politicians to remind us from time to time, but to mandate that teachers become hectoring scolds dishing this out as holy writ to young students certainly warrants forceful opposition by parents and others.
I’m just perplexed that a hack like Casten got elected – what the heck are people thinking!?
China is thinking “let’s put this dope in there. That will surely hurt America.” Elections are fraudulent
We have to work hard to get rid of him.
Gerrymandering of districts by the Democrats in charge. They select their constituents in this state, unlike what the teachers teach in civics class.
Casten is so delusional it is disturbing. A petty little man with zero accomplishments who is arrogant about that fact. The Republicans need to get off their high horse and find a pro choice woman who can clean Casten’s clock. Enough is enough.
Yep.
This is fantastic, Mark, thank you. I am still dumbfounded as to how this guy was elected. Is there a legitimate candidate to oppose him next year?
They aren’t elected. Like Pedo Joe, they’re installed. When you don’t have election integrity this is what you get.
Candidate in the making to get him ousted.
Government complicity, manipulation and control of media has been so off the charts, it is intentionally driving people to the verge of insanity, violence, and the self destruction of our nation.