Letters to the editor: Critical race theory, indoctrination task force, teaching history, Barber Park
Critical race theory
Critical race theory is a term that is new to me. As I understand it, the “theory”, in simplest terms, assigns culpability of white people for the enslavement of Black people. This is not a theory. This is history. You cannot change history even if it would be far more pleasant in some cases to ignore it.
The Holocaust was real. I’m sure the German people today would like erase that segment of their history but alas, it is not erasable.
To not teach actual history in an academic setting is unacceptable. To have the government involved in the curriculum of the classroom is deplorable. Back off, Legislature. Surely you can find a better use of your time than to interfere with how and what educators do in their classrooms.
How about taking steps to curb gun violence? How about fixing the roads and bridges? How about encouraging people to get their COVID-19 vaccinations? See? There are better ways to spend your time. Do something useful for a change.
Charlotte H. Brother, Boise
Indoctrination task force
Idaho students are right to be worried about Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin’s indoctrination task force (Statesman, 24 June). Republicans have long despised education because educated voters don’t vote for Republicans. One of the slogans on the wall of the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s prescient novel “1984” states that “Ignorance is strength.” By that, the Party meant that keeping the people ignorant would keep the Party strong.
Another slogan was “Freedom is slavery” which in Idaho means that by kowtowing to the Idaho Freedom Foundation, people are constructing their own prisons.
Republicans should study history. Hitler went after Jewish scientists, many of whom then moved to the U.S. and the U.S. developed the nuclear bomb. Stalin attacked biology (just as Republicans have attacked evolution) and the U.S. developed the polio vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine while Russia did nothing.
Republican behavior toward education was prophetically described in the 1951 story “The Marching Morons,” an apt description of Republican rallies.
Gary L. Bennett, Boise
Teaching history
Many years ago, I was a middle school student and I learned about the Holocaust. As a white girl of German descent, I was never made to feel responsible for the atrocities visited upon its victims. My Asian friends have never blamed me for sending their parents to internment camps during World War ll. That short-sighted reaction to an entire population of U.S. citizens is even recognized with displays at nearby museums. No Native American acquaintance has ever found me at fault for horrendous events like the Trail of Tears or the repeated attempts by my race to wipe out their culture.
So why is teaching the truth about Black history in America somehow considered too dangerous or too corrosive to the fragile egos of our white children? Like other topics denied to them, sex education for instance, refusing to tell them tends to make the subject all the more appealing. The cat is out of the bag folks, and our children deserve to know the facts. As Phillip Thompson so eloquently said, “Nobody should feel guilty about the sins of their father….but you should be aware of what transpired.”
Cherie Forster, Garden City
Barber Park
I’m not sure who made the decision to discontinue the air hoses at Barber Park, but the buck stops with the county commissioners — who are all in favor of big raises for themselves. Barber Park is the primary launch site for thousands of people who want to float the river, but for the past few weeks many people have arrived to find they cannot inflate their tubes and rafts. Folks at the rental office have suggested to some of these disappointed people that they use the air hose at the Albertsons on Parkcenter — not at all convenient, and I suspect Albertsons is not very keen on the idea.
A pump station at Barber Park would certainly cost less than the raises for county commissioners, and it would benefit a lot of people who pay taxes to Ada County. Summer is here, it will soon be July 4th, and a Barber Park pump station is needed now.
Monte D. Wilson, Boise