Florida Middle Schoolers Will Now Be Taught That Slavery Had ‘Personal Benefit’ for Enslaved People

[RedRosa]

That's People Magazine's headline for this astonishing step backward:

"Newly approved academic standards from Florida’s Board of Education will require middle schools to teach that enslaved people 'developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit' — a line that has ignited significant controversy among teachers' groups."

https://people.com/florida-middle-schoo ... it-7563531

To call this racist is so obvious that it's beside the point. In fact, it belittles the point. Racism abounds but only begins to really matter when the racists exercise power, especially state power.

And more than racist, it's authoritarian, fascist adjacent, as it adopts a dictatorial approach to the issue and to education in general. It's one more desperate and ugly move by DeSantis whose presidential campaign is currently on life support and who's intent in turning Florida into a White Christian Nationalist Enclave.

I can imagine what this board will do when it comes time to revise and review the teaching of the Holocaust. I doubt they will come out in favor of mass eradication of Jews by Hitler, but there are some subtleties here that could be exploited. My best guess is that they'll roundly and forcefully condemn Hitler -– not for mass murder. Rather for turning these cosmopolitan Hebes into martyrs. And by doing so, we Jews learned and experienced many “personal benefits.” Like the dumbest among us is ten time smarter than a shit like the Governor!

[TW…NTL]

As someone who works in education, I feel gutted with the passage of each backward piece of legislation. In my state, we’re currently in the process of circulating a petition so that the recent changes (rushed through by our new governor and state representatives without listening to anyone with ideas and facts to the contrary) might be put to a vote by the people.

[MarieGreen]

I'm not saying that Europe doesn't have problems. But we increasingly look at the US and are baffled. There are bizarre ideas which make it into US legislation often rooted in a very white Anglo Saxon protestant idea of the world. And everyone else is saying "Huh? Wtaf???"