History is told by the victors – remember the Alamo!
What is a hero? Merriam Webster offers the following option, in contrast to the pop-culture reference to a thick, meat-laden sandwich: "A person admired for achievements and noble qualities. One who shows great courage."
So why do educators in the great state of Texas want to draw down from describing the defenders of the Alamo as heroes in 7th grade history books? Were the men – to include Davy Crockett and James Bowie – who defended the hard-won territory not courageous? Did they not display noble qualities in remaining at their posts? Did they not achieve a fixed place in our nation's history by standing firm against overwhelming odds?
Or is there a shift in Texas that would have children grow up believing that those who defended the Alamo were foolhardy? That Texas should be part of Mexico (that is, the Mexican government which consisted of Spanish overlords instead of those of Anglo-Saxon descent)?
Could the Austin Department of Education be testing race-baiting waters? Is this latest attempt at parsing social justice shaming with an eye toward convince our youth that the sacrifices of our forefathers are worthy of scorn?
Dallas News reports: "A panel advising the State Board of Education on what seventh-graders should learn in their social studies courses has urged deleting the label 'heroic' from a curriculum standard about the Alamo's defenders."
Those educators and historians charged with retooling social studies standards, according to the Washington Post, "have advised the Texas Board of Education to remove a focus on "heroic" acts at the Alamo, calling the term "value-loaded." And hey, with 90 minutes of class time at stake, cutting values is a priority. That's Austin for you, the blob of blue in a red state under siege, attempting to disassociate the notion of heroism when it comes to defending one's territory. Why?
Here's a quick review on the Alamo:
"Walter L. Buenger, a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, who called the popular depiction of the Alamo of patriots in coonskin caps 'exceptionally simplistic,' according to the Washington Post, says, "In some minds, [the defenders] were not heroic but vainglorious, foolish, and counterproductive."
But a great many things reside in a great many minds, professor. An increasing number of Americans, academics and those who fancy themselves social justice warriors would like nothing better than to disillusion youth from any thought of heroism and/or value, especially as it pertains to the United States of America.
Remember the Alamo!
We don't need no education – take your own morality test
Incest and puppy killing are just what parents want their teenagers to mull over in English Lit class, right? If you don't agree, too bad … at least for parents in Ohio, whose 10th-grade children were already subjected to an unannounced online "morality" probe.
"Sarah Gillam, a 35-year-old Language Arts instructor at Hilliard Bradley High School, was placed on paid administrative leave pending the results of an internal investigation," according to the Columbus Dispatch.
But despite the school's swift action against the teacher, children were still subjected to the following queries: "Using both a condom and a pill, a brother and a sister decide that they want to sleep with each other – just once, to see what it would be like." "Sarah's dog has four puppies. She can only find a home for two of them, so she kills the other two with a stone to the head."
The two gems were part of a 36-question test offered by IDRLabs.com online. Yes or no responses weren't the only options. Fox News reports, "One of seven choices – ranging from 'Not OK' in red on the left to 'OK' in green on the right," supplied a range of reactions.
We don't want to cage our kids in with the "exceptionally simplistic" black-and-white model of value-loaded lessons. To reiterate Professor Buenger's sentiments of earlier, "In some minds, [the defenders] were not heroic but vainglorious, foolish, and counterproductive." No doubt some may embrace puppy killing and incest.
If you take a knee – please, have a ring in your hand
Are you still seeing red when it comes to Colin Kaepernick, former 49er QB, taking a knee at the national anthem? Shame on you! You shouldn't see color. Red shouldn't be associated with anger. Yellow shouldn't imply cowardice. Black shouldn't portent something bad. But white, despite logic and what you may believe, must be associated with prejudice.
Social justice warriors haven't chosen an end game for shaming people of color for reverse racism. They'll think of think of something, eventually. So be patient, you elitist privileged inheritors of genetics you have no control over. That includes people of color who aren't buying the race-baiting hype. Stew in your elitist juice and be duly shamed for engaging your brain.
Meanwhile, society will be treated to the absurd, like savvy Massachusetts jewelry store owner Scott Garieri of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, catching heat for selling engagement rings. Check out his highly offensive billboard ad that is an obvious slam:
Are your sensibilities inflamed? How dare this jewelry store owner attempt to sell engagement rings by using a catchy ad. Those who object have already bought a heap ton of racism, though, and have nothing to spare but misdirected fury.
Garieri's defense? The billboard was an advertisement intended to be "attention-getting." The "play on words" piggybacked on football players protesting the national anthem. That's it.
Sportswear giant Nike spent plenty to play on words and be attention-getting when they signed Kaepernick to use his failed social justice grandstanding to schlep tennis shoes.
Nike's ad, according to Boston 25 News, "features notable athlete Colin Kaepernick, the first NFL player to take a knee during the National Anthem in protest to police brutality, has a tag line that reads, 'Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.'"
Like sacrificing the lives of non-racist police officers? Like sacrificing one's intellect and will? Like believing in mob mentality so Nike can rake in the bucks for overpriced tennis shoes?
But that's not racist. That's not exploiting the suffering of real people. Not yet apparently.
Garieri, however, must be stopped. "Someone saw it (the billboard), pulled in off Route 20 and took a picture of it and then went off about how racist it is," Garieri told Boston 25 News, according to Fox News. "Then they started attacking us, they wanted to come in and vomit on the [jewelry] cases, they were going to urinate on our sidewalks."
Alexandria Garieri, the owner's daughter who manages the store, is now the target of a social media pack attack. One poster suggested she kill herself. "We're selling love, not hate," Alexandria Garieri told the Washington Post. "We were never wanting to be offensive, it was always meant to be satirical."
Race baiting is apparently very big business and absolutely no joke.
But the Garieri's are determined to keep their billboard. And while many customers may take a knee this fall, others will choose to fall victim to race baiters intent on exploiting those they purport to defend.