TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A bill pushed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that would prohibit public schools and private businesses from making white people feel “discomfort” when they teach students or train employees about discrimination in the nation’s past received its first approval Tuesday.
The Senate Education Committee approved the bill that takes aim at critical race theory — though it doesn’t mention it explicitly — on party lines, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed.
Democrats argued the bill isn’t needed, would lead to frivolous lawsuits and said it would amount to censorship in schools. They asked, without success, for real-life examples of teachers or businesses telling students or employees that they are racist because of their race.
“This bill’s not for Blacks, this bill was not for any other race. This was directed to make whites not feel bad about what happened years ago,” said state Sen. Shevrin Jones, who is Black. “At no point did anyone say white people should be held responsible for what happened, but what I would ask my white counterparts is, are you an enabler of what happened or are you going to say we must talk about history?”
Does anyone remember when Republicans loved calling Democrats, “Snowflakes” after the 2016 election? I do! Now, it would appear that the FL GOP lawmakers are the ultimate snowflakes—fearful of what truth could do to their “precious children” and businesses. Give me a break!
They don’t want white people to feel “discomforted” with truth is discussed. Really? Discussion makes people discomforted? How about living with discomfort?
During Jim Crow laws—when, well you know, black people couldn’t drink at the nearest water fountain and had to seek the “colored fountain,” wherever it might have been residing. How about feeing discomfort when having to use the bathroom when travelling and there was no bathroom accessible because they all had signs saying, “whites only!” And let’s not forget, black folks getting hungry on the road, would certainly not be welcome into restaurants with their “whites only” signs. Just how uncomfortable would being hungry, having to use the bathroom, being thirsty or even finding employment that paid a living wage be—for black folks who were treated with disdain simply because of the color of their skin?
Let’s go back a little further into “true history” not the sanitized version apparently some were subjected to learning. How uncomfortable were the Native Inhabitants made to feel when their tribes were slaughtered, and their land was stolen? How about when those who managed to survive where restricted to land masses where it was unlikely much would grow there and they were left to fend for themselves? How uncomfortable were they when their children were forbidden to hold onto their language and customs because the “white people” thought they were savages? Who were the true savages? Those coming from Europe, supposedly to escape a King who wanted to determine what religion they practiced, and yet—here are their descendants—trying to impose their views upon people—who don’t look like them—again—for no apparent reason other than their fear of facing themselves through the looking glass, in a review of history. What a crock!
Okay, let’s go back to Jim Crow—just for a moment—how uncomfortable did they think black children felt going into “desegregated schools” when mobs of white people were standing in their way, trying to prohibit their entry into a building where the children sought to be educated? Do they think those children liked being called names? Do they think the parents of those children were comfortable in leaving their children with a group of haters, who in some cases—had no conscience at all in harming little black children—even while in a church? Was that a “comfortable situation” for the black families who lost children because of hate? But the haters of the 21st century, think their children are far too precious to learn the truth about the history of this nation so they don’t want them to feel, “uncomfortable” with discussions of racism and hatred spawned by “white people.”
Are you still with me? Let’s talk about the “discomfort” George Floyd felt. We watched that on live television—a white police officer—torturing a black man to death, with “no evidence” of a crime being committed. Was George Floyd comfortable? Was his family who have watched how he was killed? Are the children of the FL GOP lawmakers going to miss that discussion because it might hurt their feelings to discuss how a black man was killed on live television simply because he was black?
I am so sick and tired of all this tomfoolery we’re being subjected to because of an allegiance to a monster—and that’s all it is. I know, people were filled with hate before they elected the monster, but really, must we continue down this dark road of denying history because it appeases his ego? If not for him, then to whom do we attribute this disgusting attitude?
No matter how hard GOP lawmakers try, they will never erase history! There was a time when they were the only ones with the “power of the press,” but that is no longer. Anyone with a smart phone can publish history as we have seen it. Students are going to read the “banned books” on their own because that’s what children do when they’re told not to do something.
Now, the real question is this—are the GOP lawmakers afraid of their own discomfort when knowledge of their actions or inactions are known? Are they afraid to acknowledge those ancestors who “brainwashed” them into believing lies? Is the truth really going to make them more “uncomfortable” than their children?
There are so many more questions that need asking and so much more needing to be said about the horrendous treatment of Native Inhabitants, slaves, and almost every other immigrant in this country who was not “white.” If I said any more, people would stop reading, so I won’t. But trust me, this isn’t the last of what I have to say—in a blog, in a video, or in a letter to editors. FL GOP lawmakers are the ultimate snowflakes!
This is so true! The young people are in need to know the history of the past and how we got here in history. When you say you love God, how is that you hate people. “God has made of one blood all the people of the earth” (Acts 17:26). Who hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth.
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