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The Not-So-Hidden Reason For Republicans’ Student Loan Anger


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Opinion: The Not-So-Hidden Reason For Republicans’ Student Loan Anger

 

Stephen A. Crockett Jr.
Tue, August 30, 2022 at 4:45 AM
 
 
President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt forgiveness in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Evan Vucci via Associated Press)
 
President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt forgiveness in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Evan Vucci via Associated Press)

President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt forgiveness in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Evan Vucci via Associated Press)

Are you wondering why many Republicans are upset that President Joe Biden just canceled up to $20,000 in student loan debt for those who desperately need it? Well, you might be forgetting one of the major tenets of white supremacy. Let’s take a walk.

You see, before Trump, Republicans were considered the camp of the conservative Christian. Many still had their racist beliefs, but they were shrouded in policy and toned-down hatespeech. Those who openly held such prejudiced racial views were considered outliers to the upstanding fiscally responsible right.

 

But there came a time when everything changed, and the party of “less federal government involvement” became the party of “big racism.” Veteran GOP strategist Stuart Stevens believes the tipping point was in 2015, “when Trump, then the leading Republican presidential candidate, called for a ban on Muslim travelers to the United States,” according to a 2020 interview with Mother Jones.  

Stevens noted that if the Republican Party didn’t want to be associated with this racist, xenophobic, style of governing then, Reince Priebus, the then-chair of the Republican National Committee, “should have declared that the GOP did not support such bigotry and staked out a moral position.” Sure, Trump may have still won the election, but the GOP would’ve been on record as shunning this type of rhetoric. Instead, the party towed the line and kept its mouth shut. 

Stevens argues that if the intrinsic, core values of the Republican Party weren’t racist, then how could they succumb so quickly to the racist values of Trump in just three or four years? What was once a taboo position to hold in the Grand Ole Party had now become the way.

I know what you’re thinking: What does any of this have to do with student loan forgiveness?

Well, one of the tenets of racism is that the white race ― simply based on skin color alone ― is the dominant race. Conveniently tied into racism is the idea of white supremacy, which also argues that the white race is the dominant race because of its fairer skin tone. 

Yes, that was the early definition when things were simpler, and Black people didn’t want crazy stuff, like their freedom and voting rights and access to any water fountain they wished. White supremacy has evolved, though. It has morphed into two factions: One is systemic racism, where the system does the dirty work and becomes both the hand and the whip. The other is white tears. White tears are the hot, angst-filled, eye sweat of racists who can’t believe that poor people are being helped. White supremacy hates poor people. It loathes them. Just look at Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. He’s one of the richest members of Congress with a net worth of $34 million, and that’s not counting the coins of his wife, economist Elaine Chao, who served on Trump’s cabinet. McConnell’s home state continuously shows up on the poorest states in America list. It ranked 6th this year.

Never forget that McConnell, along with the rest of his Senate Republicans, refused to vote for the American Rescue Plan, which, he often called, “widly out of proportion” despite the immediate relief to his constituents. Also, voting against the plan didn’t stop McConnell from bragging about the huge boon Kentuckians would receive. 

“Not a single member of my party voted for it,” McConnell noted at an event in his home state, according to The Washington Post. “I didn’t vote for it. But you’re going to get a lot more money. Cities and counties in Kentucky are getting close to seven or $800 million. If you add up the total amount that’ll come into our state ― $4 billion ― that’s twice what we sent in last year.”

It would seem to anyone with a compass and a dictionary that maybe Mitch McConnell isn’t the answer to Kentucky’s poverty problem. He’s rich, while his constituents are poor, and more importantly, he’s fine with that, and shockingly so are Kentuckians. McConnell has spent every year in Congress since he was first voted in….in…wait for it…1984! And, unless he stops running for office, he will probably be there until he retires. 

Here’s why, and yes, it’s the same reason that many Republicans are upset with student loan forgiveness: The other side of white dominance is cruelty. There is a collective camaraderie from those on the right in the suffering of those on the other side. For those Republicans who’ve been complaining, they understand the objective isn’t just to win, it’s to ensure that all other races lose. And I’m not talking running up the score, I’m talking slamming the ball on the 50-yard line and dancing. I’m talking about berating the cheerleaders and spray painting “Loser” on the team’s bus. It’s why Reps. Majorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Matt Gaetz (Fla.) couldn’t see the hypocrisy in the white tears they shed after learning that people who make less than $75,000 a year were going to receive some financial relief. Thankfully, the White House Twitter account was happy to call them out with several “this you?” tweets. 

We mustn’t underestimate that a good portion of the white tears shed after Biden’s historic announcement also came from the jealousy of not being given another tax break. Because Republicans actually love welfare ― as long as it favors them. They enjoyed four years of handouts under Trump and never complained. Hell, why would they? They were winning. 

“I don’t hear any of these Republicans squawking when we give massive tax breaks to billionaires,” Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), told George Stephanopoulos, on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday morning program.

“Suddenly when we do something for working people, it is a terrible idea,” he said.

But let’s not forget that two things can be true at the same time. Yes, Republicans are upset because America’s poor got a break that they didn’t, and yes, this is totally a political move, and I’m not mad at it. I’ve been waiting for a more aggressive and petty Democratic Party to emerge after four years of Republican domination, and I can’t lie, I like what I’m seeing. There is no playbook as to how to govern, and Republicans took off the white gloves of civility ages ago. It’s time that the Democratic Party stop fighting for the undecided moderate who doesn’t exist, and play to their base. It’s long been time for Democrats to abandon decorum and get into the mud with the rest of America. It’s time for the White House Twitter account to call out the hypocrisy of those who can’t stop whining about what they didn’t win. If this is the direction of the Democratic Party, throwing a possible $20,000 off the insurmountable monster that is student debt and Twitter-checking all of those who received Paycheck Protection Program loans and had them forgiven, then I’m here for it. 

I think some of those people who are perplexed by the response of those who want student loan borrowers to struggle under the unforgiving weight of tremendous debt forget that one of the intrinsic tenets of white supremacy is that the other must suffer. It’s not so much that they win, it’s also that you lose. It’s why a majority of white voters voted against their own self-interest to elect Donald Trump. It’s why white women who have had abortions don’t want other women to have access to them. It’s why Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis is so popular ― he’s the wielder of the uneven wand.  

Never forget that white tears are not the authentic cries from someone in pain, they are the incensed weeping of those who believe that they aren’t just supposed to win ― they are destined to. And it pains them to know that someone other than themselves might be receiving help.    

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4 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

Never forget that white tears are not the authentic cries from someone in pain, they are the incensed weeping of those who believe that they aren’t just supposed to win ― they are destined to. And it pains them to know that someone other than themselves might be receiving help.

This is all you need to know about the author of this opinion piece.  A bigoted victim that can only care about his/her/they situation.

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58 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

This is all you need to know about the author of this opinion piece.  A bigoted victim that can only care about his/her/they situation.

if you do not see racism is running rampant in your party and being taken over by facists and nut jobs i am not sure what to tell you.

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1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

if you do not see racism is running rampant in your party and being taken over by facists and nut jobs i am not sure what to tell you.

I do not see racism in every aspect of life.  I can’t say the same for you.

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2 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

I do not see racism in every aspect of life.  I can’t say the same for you.

and that right there is why racism is rampant in this country and little gets done about it.

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18 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

and that right there is why racism is rampant in this country and little gets done about it.

Why, because you see racism everywhere that nothing gets done?  I can tell you I am in the minority that doesn’t believe racism drives every aspect of our lives.  It actually shouldn’t, but it is kept alive by you and people like you.

I do realize there is racism in the world, but unlike you, I don’t believe it drives every thought of every human.

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3 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

Why, because you see racism everywhere that nothing gets done?  I can tell you I am in the minority that doesn’t believe racism drives every aspect of our lives.  It actually shouldn’t, but it is kept alive by you and people like you.

I do realize there is racism in the world, but unlike you, I don’t believe it drives every thought of every human.

so racism is done by those that want to end racism and not those that hurt folks physically and emotionally? you know that sounds like you are taking up for racism right?

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2 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

so racism is done by those that want to end racism and not those that hurt folks physically and emotionally? you know that sounds like you are taking up for racism right?

Where do you get this twisted view of what I said?  You are sounding like Coffee.  Do you think, truly, racism will end?  Ever?   There will always be biases, its human nature.

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23 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

Where do you get this twisted view of what I said?  You are sounding like Coffee.  Do you think, truly, racism will end?  Ever?   There will always be biases, its human nature.

Bias is not the same as racism/prejudice.  Bias is not synonymous with “prejudice.” A man cannot be prejudiced against another without being biased against him; but he may be biased without being prejudiced.

I agree that people will always have biases, prejudice on the other hand is all about upbringing, imo.

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18 minutes ago, Didba said:

Bias is not the same as racism/prejudice.  Bias is not synonymous with “prejudice.” A man cannot be prejudiced against another without being biased against him; but he may be biased without being prejudiced.

I agree that people will always have biases, prejudice on the other hand is all about upbringing, imo.

A person can have a bias because of the way a person looks (menacing or unfriendly) and could be construed as skin color.  Racism can be acquired through life’s experiences void of any upbringing IMO.  It can also be because of upbringing, but that can be changed due to positive experiences.  No matter what, we have a long way to go, but we try each and every day.

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48 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

Where do you get this twisted view of what I said?  You are sounding like Coffee.  Do you think, truly, racism will end?  Ever?   There will always be biases, its human nature.

Same disingenuous garbage racists have been saying for centuries.  It is key to blaming those at the bottom of society for all of societies problems.  It is the basis of racial politics. 

It is how you dupe people into voting against the basic foundational principles of justice, fairness, equality.

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2 minutes ago, icanthearyou said:

Same disingenuous garbage racists have been saying for centuries.  It is key to blaming those at the bottom of society for all of societies problems.  It is the basis of racial politics. 

It is how you dupe people into voting against the basic foundational principles of justice, fairness, equality.

Who is blaming people at the bottom for ALL societies problems.  Republicans as a whole, individuals or media’s perception of the problem?

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21 hours ago, I_M4_AU said:

A person can have a bias because of the way a person looks (menacing or unfriendly) and could be construed as skin color.  

 

Racism can be acquired through life’s experiences void of any upbringing IMO.  It can also be because of upbringing, but that can be changed due to positive experiences.  No matter what, we have a long way to go, but we try each and every day.

"A person can have a bias because of the way a person looks (menacing or unfriendly) and could be construed as skin color." This is prejudice as soon as skin color is the reason. For me its a layered approach:  Bias>prejudice>racism, homophobia, sexism.

So all sexism is bias but not all bias is sexism. 

I think we may be saying the same thing the more I think about it. Bias is for any reason good, bad or neutral. Prejudice is negative bias based upon immutable characteristics and then racism/sexism/homophobia. etc. are just prejudice classifications based on the specific characteristic.

I was saying with the proper upbringing one can be devoid of racism/prejudice, sorry that I wasn't clear. I agree with the second half of your comment.

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On 8/30/2022 at 9:31 AM, aubiefifty said:

Opinion: The Not-So-Hidden Reason For Republicans’ Student Loan Anger

 
 

 

Stephen A. Crockett Jr.
Tue, August 30, 2022 at 4:45 AM
 
 
President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt forgiveness in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Evan Vucci via Associated Press)
 
President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt forgiveness in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Evan Vucci via Associated Press)

President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt forgiveness in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Evan Vucci via Associated Press)

Are you wondering why many Republicans are upset that President Joe Biden just canceled up to $20,000 in student loan debt for those who desperately need it? Well, you might be forgetting one of the major tenets of white supremacy. Let’s take a walk.

You see, before Trump, Republicans were considered the camp of the conservative Christian. Many still had their racist beliefs, but they were shrouded in policy and toned-down hatespeech. Those who openly held such prejudiced racial views were considered outliers to the upstanding fiscally responsible right.

 

But there came a time when everything changed, and the party of “less federal government involvement” became the party of “big racism.” Veteran GOP strategist Stuart Stevens believes the tipping point was in 2015, “when Trump, then the leading Republican presidential candidate, called for a ban on Muslim travelers to the United States,” according to a 2020 interview with Mother Jones.  

Stevens noted that if the Republican Party didn’t want to be associated with this racist, xenophobic, style of governing then, Reince Priebus, the then-chair of the Republican National Committee, “should have declared that the GOP did not support such bigotry and staked out a moral position.” Sure, Trump may have still won the election, but the GOP would’ve been on record as shunning this type of rhetoric. Instead, the party towed the line and kept its mouth shut. 

Stevens argues that if the intrinsic, core values of the Republican Party weren’t racist, then how could they succumb so quickly to the racist values of Trump in just three or four years? What was once a taboo position to hold in the Grand Ole Party had now become the way.

I know what you’re thinking: What does any of this have to do with student loan forgiveness?

Well, one of the tenets of racism is that the white race ― simply based on skin color alone ― is the dominant race. Conveniently tied into racism is the idea of white supremacy, which also argues that the white race is the dominant race because of its fairer skin tone. 

Yes, that was the early definition when things were simpler, and Black people didn’t want crazy stuff, like their freedom and voting rights and access to any water fountain they wished. White supremacy has evolved, though. It has morphed into two factions: One is systemic racism, where the system does the dirty work and becomes both the hand and the whip. The other is white tears. White tears are the hot, angst-filled, eye sweat of racists who can’t believe that poor people are being helped. White supremacy hates poor people. It loathes them. Just look at Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. He’s one of the richest members of Congress with a net worth of $34 million, and that’s not counting the coins of his wife, economist Elaine Chao, who served on Trump’s cabinet. McConnell’s home state continuously shows up on the poorest states in America list. It ranked 6th this year.

Never forget that McConnell, along with the rest of his Senate Republicans, refused to vote for the American Rescue Plan, which, he often called, “widly out of proportion” despite the immediate relief to his constituents. Also, voting against the plan didn’t stop McConnell from bragging about the huge boon Kentuckians would receive. 

“Not a single member of my party voted for it,” McConnell noted at an event in his home state, according to The Washington Post. “I didn’t vote for it. But you’re going to get a lot more money. Cities and counties in Kentucky are getting close to seven or $800 million. If you add up the total amount that’ll come into our state ― $4 billion ― that’s twice what we sent in last year.”

It would seem to anyone with a compass and a dictionary that maybe Mitch McConnell isn’t the answer to Kentucky’s poverty problem. He’s rich, while his constituents are poor, and more importantly, he’s fine with that, and shockingly so are Kentuckians. McConnell has spent every year in Congress since he was first voted in….in…wait for it…1984! And, unless he stops running for office, he will probably be there until he retires. 

Here’s why, and yes, it’s the same reason that many Republicans are upset with student loan forgiveness: The other side of white dominance is cruelty. There is a collective camaraderie from those on the right in the suffering of those on the other side. For those Republicans who’ve been complaining, they understand the objective isn’t just to win, it’s to ensure that all other races lose. And I’m not talking running up the score, I’m talking slamming the ball on the 50-yard line and dancing. I’m talking about berating the cheerleaders and spray painting “Loser” on the team’s bus. It’s why Reps. Majorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Matt Gaetz (Fla.) couldn’t see the hypocrisy in the white tears they shed after learning that people who make less than $75,000 a year were going to receive some financial relief. Thankfully, the White House Twitter account was happy to call them out with several “this you?” tweets. 

We mustn’t underestimate that a good portion of the white tears shed after Biden’s historic announcement also came from the jealousy of not being given another tax break. Because Republicans actually love welfare ― as long as it favors them. They enjoyed four years of handouts under Trump and never complained. Hell, why would they? They were winning. 

“I don’t hear any of these Republicans squawking when we give massive tax breaks to billionaires,” Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), told George Stephanopoulos, on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday morning program.

“Suddenly when we do something for working people, it is a terrible idea,” he said.

But let’s not forget that two things can be true at the same time. Yes, Republicans are upset because America’s poor got a break that they didn’t, and yes, this is totally a political move, and I’m not mad at it. I’ve been waiting for a more aggressive and petty Democratic Party to emerge after four years of Republican domination, and I can’t lie, I like what I’m seeing. There is no playbook as to how to govern, and Republicans took off the white gloves of civility ages ago. It’s time that the Democratic Party stop fighting for the undecided moderate who doesn’t exist, and play to their base. It’s long been time for Democrats to abandon decorum and get into the mud with the rest of America. It’s time for the White House Twitter account to call out the hypocrisy of those who can’t stop whining about what they didn’t win. If this is the direction of the Democratic Party, throwing a possible $20,000 off the insurmountable monster that is student debt and Twitter-checking all of those who received Paycheck Protection Program loans and had them forgiven, then I’m here for it. 

I think some of those people who are perplexed by the response of those who want student loan borrowers to struggle under the unforgiving weight of tremendous debt forget that one of the intrinsic tenets of white supremacy is that the other must suffer. It’s not so much that they win, it’s also that you lose. It’s why a majority of white voters voted against their own self-interest to elect Donald Trump. It’s why white women who have had abortions don’t want other women to have access to them. It’s why Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis is so popular ― he’s the wielder of the uneven wand.  

Never forget that white tears are not the authentic cries from someone in pain, they are the incensed weeping of those who believe that they aren’t just supposed to win ― they are destined to. And it pains them to know that someone other than themselves might be receiving help.    

This article is a POS.

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On 8/30/2022 at 1:19 PM, I_M4_AU said:

A person can have a bias because of the way a person looks (menacing or unfriendly) and could be construed as skin color.  Racism can be acquired through life’s experiences void of any upbringing IMO.  It can also be because of upbringing, but that can be changed due to positive experiences.  No matter what, we have a long way to go, but we try each and every day.

Agreed with you, but we ALL are biased and prejudiced. It’s because we are fallen creatures.

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32 minutes ago, PUB78 said:

This article is a POS.

yeah its not the best... "Never forget that white tears are not the authentic cries from someone in pain, they are the incensed weeping of those who believe that they aren’t just supposed to win ― they are destined to. And it pains them to know that someone other than themselves might be receiving help." 

This is just wild.

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29 minutes ago, PUB78 said:

Agreed with you, but we ALL are biased and prejudiced. It’s because we are fallen creatures.

No, we are not all prejudiced.  Plenty of us do not have preconceived opinions about people that are based upon immutable characteristics.

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3 hours ago, Didba said:

No, we are not all prejudiced.  Plenty of us do not have preconceived opinions about people that are based upon immutable characteristics.

I am not so sure of that.

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13 hours ago, Didba said:

yeah its not the best... "Never forget that white tears are not the authentic cries from someone in pain, they are the incensed weeping of those who believe that they aren’t just supposed to win ― they are destined to. And it pains them to know that someone other than themselves might be receiving help." 

This is just wild.

This is the same passage that I quoted in my OP and was attacked for the reason racism continues.  All I did was point out that this author was being racist himself, I said nothing else about racism.  It appears that racism against white people are fair game, even to the point that teacher union contracts are written to layoff white teachers before teachers of color.  They base this on some arbitrary quota.  It is racism pure and simple.

Do you think we will concur racism by this type of actions?  Is every POC immune from being called a racist even though they exhibit such characteristics?

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9 hours ago, PUB78 said:

I am not so sure of that.

I understand where you are coming from.  The biblical perspective of we are all sinners.  I just don't subscribe to the idea that being sinners means we are inherently prejudice. Biased sure but bias doesn't have an inherently negative connotation like prejudice. IMO, of course.

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2 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

This is the same passage that I quoted in my OP and was attacked for the reason racism continues.  All I did was point out that this author was being racist himself, I said nothing else about racism.  It appears that racism against white people are fair game, even to the point that teacher union contracts are written to layoff white teachers before teachers of color.  They base this on some arbitrary quota.  It is racism pure and simple.

Do you think we will concur racism by this type of actions?  Is every POC immune from being called a racist even though they exhibit such characteristics?

I don't think that arbitrary quota will pass strict scrutiny if it was at a public school, meaning it will be struck down by courts.

Under the technical definition I have heard academics discuss that theoretically minorities cannot be racist but that is because of a definition of racism that focuses on the majority/minority distinction heavily.  A minority of academics subscribe to it in very nuanced discussions but its really a very narrow view for academic discussions only.

IMO, POC can be and are racist towards other POC and whites.

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1 minute ago, Didba said:

I don't think that arbitrary quota will pass strict scrutiny if it was at a public school, meaning it will be struck down by courts.

Under the technical definition I have heard academics discuss that theoretically minorities cannot be racist but that is because of a definition of racism that focuses on the majority/minority distinction heavily.  A minority of academics subscribe to it in very nuanced discussions but its really a very narrow view for academic discussions only.

IMO, POC can be and are racist towards other POC and whites.

The academia definition of racism is the issue.  It allows racism and these racist are not called out because of it.  Racism will not end until we all are honest about the issue.

The public schools in Minnesota are using the *better to ask forgiveness than as permission* type of governance waiting for someone to sue before they are held accountable.

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1 minute ago, I_M4_AU said:

The academia definition of racism is the issue.  It allows racism and these racist are not called out because of it.  Racism will not end until we all are honest about the issue.

The public schools in Minnesota are using the *better to ask forgiveness than as permission* type of governance waiting for someone to sue before they are held accountable.

Just to point out that definition is just one academic definition of racism and its a minority view.  There are many academic definitions of racism that line up with how a lay person would define it .

As for the public schools' approach in Minnesota, its a tale as old as time.  Schools on both sides of the political spectrum have done it for various reasons.  Conservative schools normally violate the establishment clause while liberal schools normally violate the equal protection clause.

Some have even done it thinking they were within constitutional bounds only to find out by new precedent that they weren't  Michigan Uni's racial quotas is a good example, it was fine up until it wasn't and there had not been any previous precedent to say that quotas were unconstitutional.  Alabama's refusal to desegregate until forced to by the Feds is a good example of when they knew it was unconstitutional but still said "make me."

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3 hours ago, Didba said:

I understand where you are coming from.  The biblical perspective of we are all sinners.  I just don't subscribe to the idea that being sinners means we are inherently prejudice. Biased sure but bias doesn't have an inherently negative connotation like prejudice. IMO, of course.

Good point.

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