Yesterday’s tweet by Chris Hayes, MSNBC talk head, really piqued my curiosity. As election night surprises rolled out, particularly in Virginia, I found myself thinking more and more about Hayes’ pronouncement.
Interesting to see how “education” or schools has been a focal point of right-wing grievance despite the fact that grievances change. It was all about the schools that were closed a year ago! After they opened it was both a mask and crt.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) November 2, 2021
He seems to be suggesting that the “right-wing grievances” about education (we really don’t need to be putting scare quotes around education, Hayes. It’s fine) are disingenuous because they keep “shifting.” And this is why they lost Virginia and a lot of local school boards across the nation last night.
Dear Mr. Hayes: In vain attempts to motivate you to show just a little bit of self-awareness for your party, let me tell you.
Parents were concerned when schools shut down, especially as COVID awareness grew. When we realized that children were not really getting sick, weren’t super-spreaders, and had a statistically near-zero chance of dying from COVID, we didn’t understand what argument teachers unions were making when they kept trying to tell us that they only wanted to keep students safe. We really didn’t get it when the same politicians who were demanding we not be allowed to send our children to public schools were caught sending their own children to private schools that were allowed to stay open. They even hired private educators. The wealthy Americans in the country set up homeschooling pods, hired tutors and teachers to make sure their kids enjoyed as many normal activities as they could. We were left to see our kids suffer in their isolation and receive subpar instruction.
Another thing was also on display. The education gap between the wealthy and the rest of us widened. We were simultaneously watching our children’s Zoom lessons as they were being taught. Suddenly, every classroom was in the home and we had the bird’s eye view of what was being taught…and what wasn’t being taught.
We didn’t like it. We didn’t like it.
When schools opened, that concern didn’t magically disappear, Mr. Hayes. Only one battle is possible at any given moment, and it was very large. Once we were able count on daily instruction and head back to work, we couldn’t forget what we’d seen. We couldn’t forget how our school board representatives and elected politicians insulted us as granny-killer and white supremacists because we wanted schools open and we had questions about the validity of the curriculum being taught. We couldn’t forget how we once took it for granted that our school boards are on our side, but came to discover that they look down on us the same way you do, Mr.Hayes.
So no, the battle didn’t suddenly “shift” from openings to CRT and mask mandates. We were forced to spend time with our children while they studied from the school curriculum. This was when the war began. It was not the end point of going back to school, but a beginning point. Parents care about their children and this 18-month period has shown us that we have seen the whole picture. That’s your fault – the progressive left as led by teachers unions and talking heads like yourself who have never once never once had to wonder who will care for your 5-year-old child who is stuck at home while you go to work to feed them. You opened the doors…rather, the computer screens. We did not like the results. The movement didn’t “shift,” it just matured.
It would be a good thing to stop talking about punditry and listen to what your parents are saying. People like you made it into a fire war. You didn’t know that the most dangerous place to be is between a mama bear and her cubs. You can call loving parents “racists” all you want, they won’t care if you’re holding a gun in your hand aimed right at the heart of their children. Terry McAuliffe found out the hard way that this was true last night. If you’re able to do any self-reflection at all, then you can too.
I don’t hold out hope, however. In the punditry game you don’t get rewarded for being reasonable, on either side of the fence. It’s not a handsome reward. You’re committed to the narrative that anyone who holds different opinions from your own is a white supremacist and not worth hearing. Your religion is politics and your bubble your refuge. I’m not naive enough to believe one election cycle will change that.
Using “right-wing grievances” to describe the legitimate concerns of parents across the nation is not a winning strategy. Look at Asra Nomani, a liberal, Democrat, Muslim activist who led the parent’s revolution in Virginia. She is a Democrat. She is a liberal. She doesn’t want to be either a Republican nor a conservative. She would have gladly voted Democrat if the Democrat’s had given her concerns as a parent a moment of thought. But you guys couldn’t even summon the will to be polite about it. You called the Indian-born Muslim woman white supremacist.
I woke today to the news this mama bear — the 1st generation born after white British rule in India — am a white supremacist because I voted for Glenn Youngkin. Dear @orlipeterIt taught me how important it is to have a strong self-image. Is there anything you would like to see on my next tee? pic.twitter.com/SGf16DO3oD
— Asra Q. Nomani 🐻Mama Bear “Domestic Terrorist” 🧸 (@AsraNomani) November 3, 2021
Well, how’s that workin’ for ya?
This was a perfectly decent Democrat who you drove into the arms a right-winger candidate. She could just have been heard.
You got in the way of a mama bear and that’s a bad, bad place to be.
You and your cohorts are insulting the average American citizen all the way through to an election upset in 2022, Mr. Hayes.
You don’t have to be a Republican, but do you have to be such an asshole?
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