The biggest farce perpetrated by anti-critical race theory Republicans is the idea that they’re warriors against student indoctrination. The truth is no one is more invested in controlling what students learn in the classroom than conservatives. Shouting the word “woke” at everything they want banned and instituting curricula that paint America as this pristine nation of flawless nobility is absolutely conservative indoctrination. And so is turning right-wing political buzz phrases into required learning—which is where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis comes in.
According to the Washington Post, DeSantis signed a bill into law Monday establishing a new state holiday known as “Victims of Communism Day.” But it’s not really a holiday. It’s not like students will be let out of school in order to commemorate this special day and recognize the fallen victims of communist regimes—quite the opposite, actually.
From the Post:
The law states that starting next year “Victims of Communism Day” will be observed by public schools on Nov. 7. On that day, high-schoolers will receive lessons in their U.S. government classes about the “atrocities” that have been imposed by communist governments.
“We want to make sure that every year, folks in Florida — but particularly our students — will learn about the evils of communism, the dictators who have led communist regimes, and the hundreds of millions of individuals who have suffered and continue to suffer under the weight of this discredited ideology,” DeSantis said.
Let’s be honest about what Florida is actually doing here. Communism certainly has historical significance on a global level, but in America, it has long been reduced to a right-wing platitude aimed at anything that doesn’t fall in line with conservative ideology (also see “Marxism). And DeSantis—a man who has made it his mission to ban all things CRT-related despite him not actually knowing anything about CRT outside of how it makes white people uncomfortable—is requiring students to learn about communism, not because it’s necessary, but because he’s looking to turn the tide on a culture war conservatives are losing more and more ground on with every new generation.
And if you think I’m being cynical or hyperbolic, here’s what Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez told reporters regarding the new anti-communism law:
“By the actions, we’re taking today, along with actions that we’ve already taken like removing CRT, ‘woke’ ideologies from our classrooms, making sure that parents have the right—empowering parents to make decisions for their children—we will always ensure that our students are getting the best education.”
Riiight, this is about “empowering parents.” I’m sure that if there are parents in Florida who are against this new required learning because they have different views on communism (because not everyone equates oppressive regimes with socioeconomic beliefs they adhered to) or because they just think the whole thing is conservative indoctrination (which it is), Florida Republicans would have the same interest in “empowering” those parens and recognizing their say on what their children are learning in school.
This ain’t about communism, this is about pro-conservatism and anti-“wokeness.” It’s about right-wing indoctrination. That’s it and that’s all.