CNN is not a news organization but a propaganda arm of the Democratic Party. The media outlet has been aggressively dismissing far-left ideas such as defund the police and critical race theory as misconstrued right-wing scare tactics, after they proved unpopular with voters. That continued on Don Lemon’s Monday night show, when he brought on “Democrat socialist” congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to defend teaching critical race theory to infants and bash Republicans for wanting to “ban our own history.”
Lemon started by asking Ocasio-Cortez if Republican “scare tactics” to “redefine” critical race theory were “working?” Pretending like she was a sociology teacher, the Democrat complained the push-back from parents over the toxic ideology was rooted in “white supremacy” and a “fear of the other.”
Ocasio-Cortez then pushed the left’s lie that opposition to CRT was just an excuse to not talk “about race in schools in general.”
The CNN host kept helping the Democrat promote lies about the right and anti-CRT parents. He claimed this was part of a larger effort from the right to make it harder for black people to vote:
LEMON: You know, in places like Texas and elsewhere, really, we're seeing bills banning teaching of critical race theory paired with laws making it harder for minorities to vote. Why do you think this is all being pushed at once? Do you think that first of all, maybe I think that this critical race theory is to win back some of the folks in the suburbs, educated white people and what the best way to do that is give them fears about their children?
Of course the Democrat agreed, before falsely and repeatedly claiming that CRT isn’t even taught in any schools other than law school.
Lemon then let Ocasio-Cortez go on a rant, whining about how Republicans don’t want kids to learn how to be “anti-racist” and want to “ban books” and “ban history:”
[W]e should say why don't you want our schools to teach anti-racism? Why don't Republicans want their kids to know the tradition of anti-racism in the United States? Why are Republicans trying to ban books in this country? Why are Republicans trying to ban speech? Why are they trying to fire certain professors? Why are they attacking the core roots of history in this country that strays anything beyond what we already know?In fact, you have folks like Kevin McCarthy making statements that sound like he's never even read Martin Luther King in his life trying to ban books that actually talk about the history of the civil rights movement and institutional racism of the United States. So why don't Republicans want us to learn how to not be racist? Why don't Republicans want kids to know how to not be racist?
Finally, Lemon offered a pitiful amount of push-back, saying, “They say it's too young and it makes -- it gives -- it makes white kids feel bad and it gives them guilt about being white at too young of an age and they should not have or be taught that guilt at all or anything that gives them that.”
That’s when things got even more absurd. Lemon let Ocasio-Cortez finish out the interview hailing the virtues of teaching babies, who can’t even talk yet, how to be “anti racist:" [click expand]
Babies when they are exposed to family members, neighborhoods, et cetera, of one race, their eye contact. We already know this from neuro scientists and neuro sociology, et cetera, sociologists, et cetera, that babies already start to gravitate towards members of their own race when they're disproportionately exposed to just one race in their life.
It doesn't mean that babies are racist but what it means is that we already start to gravitate towards communities and people that we already know are -- and are already acclimated to. Children do not feel guilty about racism when they learn early on what racism is.In fact, children learn to recognize it and can engage in corrective behavior early.
She mocked parents concerned about CRT being taught to children: “Oh, wow, so your child's teacher is not -- is anti-racist and is actually fluent in how to dismantle racism in the dynamics of racism in a classroom?”
She touted, “That is something that teachers should know how to do.” The Democrat then connected the dots Lemon placed for her earlier, saying any objections to CRT was also about taking away voting rights:
Republicans are trying to ban this, are trying to ban us from knowing our own history because if we don't know our own history, then it is easier for them to ban -- it is easier for them to curtail our rights to vote and to essentially take us backwards to the 1960s as they have been doing with many of these state laws.
Not surprising but Lemon offered no challenge to any of this nonsense.
Read a relevant transcript below:
CNN
Don Lemon Tonight
7/19/21
LEMON (on camera): And we're back now with New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
So, Congresswoman, I want to ask you about this debate that we're seeing over critical race theory. Do you think Republican efforts to redefine it and use as a scare tactic, do you think it working?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Well, I do think it's working because what we have seen is that the Republican base and the Republican Party has really pivoted to a strategy of using race and using just the changing demographics of this country and as we saw on January 6th, using a white supremacist core logic in order to re-animate a very core fear in this country of the other.
And so, what's really important is that we come together and have a very strong rebuttal to that core logic, not just in fact checking Republican claims but actually confronting the core logic and addressing the core fears that they're trying to really tap into when they try to use terms like critical race theory, as a proxy for just saying talking about race in schools in general.
LEMON: You know, in places like Texas and elsewhere, really, we're seeing bills banning teaching of critical race theory paired with laws making it harder for minorities to vote. Why do you think this is all being pushed at once? Do you think that first of all, maybe I think that this critical race theory is to win back some of the folks in the suburbs, educated white people and what the best way to do that is give them fears about their children?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Yes, absolutely. I think that's certainly a strategy that they have and in order to do that, you know, especially at a school level and a school board level in some states and municipalities is how they can really try to work to re-animate that base.
And it's not an accident that they are using race as the core and that we're seeing this paired with a very strong push to essentially disenfranchise and limit the right to vote, as well as the Supreme Court continuing to gut the Voting Rights Act.
And when we say how we counter this, it's not just fact checking in some of those, you know, basic claims, which is still important to do. Critical race theory is not taught in elementary school, it is barely taught in law schools frankly in the level it should be taught.
But beyond that, because we know that Republicans have started to now use this -- these laws curtailing critical race, quote, unquote, "curriculum" that's not even being taught in the first place as a proxy to saying we can't teach anything about race in our schools beyond just some of the most minute minimal, minimal, minimal facts.
LEMON: well, some of the --
OCASIO-CORTEZ: And to that, I think --
LEMON: Go on. Finish your thought. Sorry.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: I also say, and to that we should say why don't you want our schools to teach anti-racism? Why don't Republicans want their kids to know the tradition of anti-racism in the United States? Why are Republicans trying to ban books in this country? Why are Republicans trying to ban speech? Why are they trying to fire certain professors? Why are they attacking the core roots of history in this country that strays anything beyond what we already know?In fact, you have folks like Kevin McCarthy making statements that sound like he's never even read Martin Luther King in his life trying to ban books that actually talk about the history of the civil rights movement and institutional racism of the United States. So why don't Republicans want us to learn how to not be racist? Why don't Republicans want kids to know how to not be racist? And I think that --
LEMON: Well, they're saying it's too young --
OCASIO-CORTEZ: -- is the question that eliminates this.
LEMON: They say it's too young and it makes -- it gives -- it makes white kids feel bad and it gives them guilt about being white at too young of an age and they should not have or be taught that guilt at all or anything that gives them that.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Yes. Well, you know, I think here is the deal. Here is something that we know neurocognitively. Babies when they are exposed to family members, neighborhoods, et cetera, of one race, their eye contact. We already know this from neuro cientists and neurosociology, et cetera, sociologists, et cetera, that babies already start to gravitate towards members of their own race when they're disproportionately exposed to just one race in their life.
It doesn't mean that babies are racist but what it means is that we already start to gravitate towards communities and people that we already know are -- and are already acclimated to. Children do not feel guilty about racism when they learn early on what racism is.In fact, children learn to recognize it and can engage in corrective behavior early. Now what does feel guilty are the adults who allow racism to happen in their lives and when their children acknowledge it better than some of the adults in their lives do. And so, to that, I don't think that children feel guilty. I think there is a responsible way for us to talk about how to be peaceful and treat each other with respect.
And we use, and Republicans are using these words like critical race theory, which again is a law school curriculum that is not even taught in schools, and their argument is well, some teachers may be exposed to it. Oh, wow, so your child's teacher is not -- is anti-racist and is actually fluent in how to dismantle racism in the dynamics of racism in a classroom.
LEMON: Yes.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: That is something that teachers should know how to do. And um, Republicans are trying to ban this, are trying to ban us from knowing our own history because if we don't know our own history, then it is easier for them to ban -- it is easier for them to curtail our rights to vote and to essentially take us backwards to the 1960s as they have been doing with many of these state laws.
LEMON: Congresswoman, thank you so much.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Of course, thank you.
