A district court judge temporarily blocked portions of Florida’s Individual Freedom Act—also known as the Stop WOKE Act—related to private businesses on Thursday on the grounds they violated the First Amendment. CNN’s Don Lemon and Bakari Sellers used the ruling and latter’s Thursday show to argue that the education portions of the bill show that Gov. Ron DeSantis, an anti-intellectual, wants Floridians dumber.
After Republican strategist defended the education portion of the law, Lemon tried to shift the conversation to the invalidated private sector portions, “Bill does not mention Critical Race Theory. The intention of the law was to prohibit teaching and training that would suggest that someone is privileged or oppressed on account of race, colour, gender, or nationality. The judge says, ‘if Florida truly believes we live in a post-racial society, then let it make its case. But it cannot win the argument by muzzling its opponents.” I mean, go on. What do you think—what do you think– of that?’”
Sellers did not answer the question, alleging the entire thing to be “kind of silly” because “white privilege is a thing.”
After trying to prove his point by citing the former CEO of WeWork, Sellers, ignoring the present conversation and all the similar ones on CNN in recent times, argued, “If we want to talk about people’s place in this country because of who they love or the color of their skin or who they pray to, then we really have to have a honest conversation. We’ve never dealt with the issue of race.”
Getting back to DeSantis, Sellers declared, “And what Ron DeSantis wants to do in the state of Florida is make us dumber. Ron DeSantis is pushing – it’s not wokeness, it’s not white privilege, it’s anti-intellectualism. This is what I have said before and I will repeat it: not everyone wants to be so anti-intellectual like Ron DeSantis. And the fact of the matter is this: he does not want individuals to feel empowered knowing their real history.”
Later, he insisted that all he wants is to be able to tell the truth, “I don’t care if it’s called woke, I don’t care if it’s called white privilege, I don’t care what term you want to put on it. I want to be honest about this country’s history” while DeSantis lives “in a fairytale land.”
Lemon asked Stewart how white privilege made people feel less inferior. Stewart replied that it leads to the belief that “they owe something to other students.”
She might as well have not answered, because Lemon either wasn’t listening or didn’t care and just had a Republican on to check a box, because he returned to Sellers, asking “Shouldn’t we just be teaching the history of this country, which is, you know, black history is American history?”
It is evident that media commentators on abortion laws are not familiar with them. There is nothing in the law that prohibits teachings of “racial discrimination, as well as topics relating to the enactment and enforcement of laws resulting in racial oppression.”
Sellers could argue that Americans treat blacks differently. That argument is allowed under Florida law. He just couldn’t indoctrinate people by insisting it is true while ignoring Stewart’s point of view.
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The transcript of the August 18th show is available here:
CNN Don’t forget Lemon tonight
8/18/2022
11.31 ET
DON LEMON (OK) Bakari, we’ll talk about this. They call it Stop Woke Act. Critical Race Theory was not included in Bill. This was done to avoid any training or teaching that would suggest a person is privileged or oppressed due to their race or color, sexual orientation, or national origin.
The judge says, “if Florida truly believes we live in a post-racial society, then let it make its case. But it cannot win the argument by muzzling its opponents.” I mean, go on. What do you think—what do you think– of that?
BAKARI SELLERS: I mean, this—this—this– conversation is kind of silly. First, there is white privilege. As an example, take Silicon Valley. The former CEO and founder of WeWork ran the company to its knees. Their losses totalled $40 billion. However, they were able to get another investment of $350 millions. In a private venture, he was not only able to lose but failed twice. He was a white man and had privilege.
The color of your skin is an indicator that you are entitled to certain privileges in this country. It is a completely different matter whether we wish to discuss the truthful history of this country. We must have an honest discussion if we are going to discuss people’s places in the country due to their race, color or religion. Race has not been an issue in this country.
Ron DeSantis’s goal in Florida is to make us stupider. Ron DeSantis is pushing – it’s not wokeness, it’s not white privilege, it’s anti-intellectualism.
It’s not a common thing for everyone to feel as anti-intellectual, as Ron DeSantis. The truth is that he doesn’t want people to be empowered by knowing their true history.
My family’s blood literally runs through this nation, so I think I am able to critique this country. This is part of our past, regardless of whether it’s my grandfather or my father who is a veteran. My father was not only sent to prison once but twice.
Let’s be honest, then, when we take into account all these aspects of raising Black children in America, it becomes clear that the truth is out there. It doesn’t matter what it is called, or if you call it white privilege. This country’s history is something I would like to share.
Ron DeSantis is a Disney resident, which is quite strange. He’s the governor of Florida. He lives in fairytale country. He does not live in America as it is.
LEMON: Alice, it’s like Alice saying it makes people feel insecure. How—how– exactly does it make people feel inferior?
ALICE STEWART : It is a common teaching technique that tells children, by simply referring to their skin color, they are considered inferior or unprivileged. This can lead students to feel that they owe them something.
And—and– here’s the thing. When we’re talking about diversity and inclusion and equality, the sheer—the mere– definition of saying that one race is superior than another, goes, flies in the face of making sure that we have equity in our school system. And that’s the—that’s the– message that he’s trying to say, we need to take these teachings out of the curriculum and out of the schools.
LEMON: Why don’t you just teach the history of our country?
SELLERS: But Don, I don’t know – I don’t– but, Don, we’re not — I don’t want a white kid to feel inferior. I do not want any person to think that a color like their skin makes them inferior. This is the main point. What we’re referring to is the inequalities that exist within our country because people are treated differently due to their skin colour. There are some communities, Jackson in Mississippi, which is predominantly black, does not have access to clean water. South Carolina, Denmark and South Carolina don’t have any clean water.
We have a criminal justice system that we know black—black– and brown folks are wrongfully and overly incarcerated. Black women are more likely than white women to be killed in childbirth, compared to white women. These are black women, who own the largest and most successful small businesses but have little access to capital.
It’s not like something I imagined. It’s not something I can believe. They are true statistics. We’re talking here about oppression systems. Therefore, I do not want any white child to feel anything other than the knowledge of our history and current situation.
It is my firm belief that nothing and everything in the country can be reimagined. This is what I’m trying to accomplish, which is to allow us to imagine what our country should look like.
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