Why We Are Against Critical Race Theory

In recent times, there has been a lot of conversation about Critical Race Theory. What is it? What does it say about America? Are the people against it simply against an honest assessment of America’s history, as its proponents suggest? Is it all completely made up race baiting, as many of its opponents claim? Is it a way of teaching history with kernels of truth in it, but that generally goes too far?

Critical Race Theory comes out of Critical Theory, a Marxist application that attempts to delegitimize and tear down the structures that built society. And at a simple level, what people oppose about Critical Race Theory is the notion that all the structure of the US and American society in general, were built on racism. American society was actually built on the opposite; the idea that all people were created equal. Our nation actually stood out as abnormal in how it originally began. 

And if one were to say that certain aspects, laws, attitudes and practices in the US were racist, they’d be right. There are kernels of truth in Critical Race Theory at the most basic level. There has been racism and racist structures in American society. But to then extrapolate that to say that the structure of America is so racist that it needs to be torn down and radically transformed shows a complete lack of understanding of context and human history. Because by that logic, every single society in history would need to be torn down and radically transformed.

By the standards of the people advocating for the tear down and radical transformation of American, all societies would be beyond salvageable unless they were torn down and rebuilt. Pointing out the racial problems in the US is not saying anything unique about the US, it is simply pointing out the problems in human beings. The specific details of racism are particular to the US, but the overall problem of racism is not.

Critical Race Theory is also used as a tool that forces people to accept all of its claims lest they be called racist. It also forces people to accept all of the proposed remedies it suggests. But these “remedies” are being based in racial pseudo science, created by far left race baiters. The problem is that they conflate the rejection of CRT’s racialism with “not wanting to acknowledge any problems in the US.” A real conversation about race and oppression would be one that actually acknowledges context of human nature, and allows a back and forth conversation. CRT simply presents a radical left wing view of race in America, without allowing any pushback. It also creates division between people in the country. 

The people who made CRT have modified some of the language and details of it. This is something many on the left do. Modern leftist pushes on things are often changing to suit the goals of the people making them. This applies to those pushing Defund the Police, from advocating for actually abolishing police departments, to claiming to only want a reallocation of funds. But these examples of backtracking only come in response to the pushback they receive. If not for the pushback, which the purveyors of CRT obviously wish would never have happened, the most current, slightly less insane iteration of Critical Race Theory, would be even more radical. Because of this, we know that the purveyors of CRT are left wing race baiters who do not operate in good faith.

CRT is always changing, and most people don’t have time to monitor the ever changing intricate details of this ideology. That is why, for many it’s difficult to pin down to a single definition. But people are able to separate the constant necessity for improvement in society with the idea that the society needs to be torn down. They can see America and its history and compare it to nations throughout history. They can tell the difference between constructive criticism and bad faith attacks. People want to improve the country without demonizing it. And people want something that uplifts and unites them, rather than puts down and divides them. So of course people are against CRT.