Maria Montessori Academy in Utah is allowing parents to rescind permission for their children to participate in Black History Month lessons this year.
Director Micah Hirokawa informed families via the school’s Facebook page that they could “exercise their civil rights to not participate in Black History Month at the school.”
I think Hirokawa’s message should have read:
“You may exercise your rights as an ignorant racist by removing your soon-to-be racist child from an opportunity to learn about the history of Black people in America and throughout the world. You may pick up your ‘I’m an ignorant racist!’ tee-shirt (available in white and ultra-white) at the main office.”
Hirokawa said he made the decision “reluctantly” and disagreed with the families who chose to remove their children from the instruction.
For the record:
Making a decision “reluctantly” does not absolve you of your failure to do the right thing.
What shocks me the most is the complete lack of shame that some parents feel when removing their children from these lessons. It’s one thing to be a closeted, ignorant bigot, avoiding doing business with Black entrepreneurs, forbidding Johnny from inviting his Black classmates to his birthday barbecue, and making racist jokes in private, equally ignorant company.
It’s quite another to pull Johnny from lessons that might teach him something about the Black Americans who have helped to build and defend this country.
You might as well fly a Confederate flag from your rooftop. It amounts to a public declaration of racism.
In other news of the stupid:
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced Friday that she will be lifting all coronavirus restrictions, including the use of masks, social distancing, and limitations on social gatherings.
Why is Governor Reynolds lifting all restrictions? Perhaps she examined the data.
Iowa is currently third in our nation in infection rates, trailing only Idaho and Alabama in percentage of positive COVID-19 test results. Currently 25% of all COVID-19 tests in Iowa are coming back positive.
By comparison, every state in New England, plus New York, has an infection rate under 5%.
Even better, Iowa is currently third in COVID-19 death rates, too, trailing only Alabama and Indiana.
Iowa is also currently last in the nation in vaccination rate.
It’s kind of astounding how much they suck.
Perhaps Governor Reynolds looked at all of this sobering data and said, “Screw it. Iowa is already a cesspool of COVID-19 infection and death. And we suck at vaccinating our citizens. Might as well enjoy ourselves if we can’t keep our citizens safe.”
It’s one thing to live in a state filled with morons who refuse to comply to coronavirus restrictions. It’s fully another to purposefully legislate against measures to keep your citizens alive.
Connecticut is currently in the bottom 10 of states in both infection and death rates due to COVID-19. This probably has something to do with Connecticut also being fourth in the nation in terms of mask adherence and one of the first states to issue a mask mandate, back in early April of 2020.
In fact, all of the New England states rank in the top 10 in terms of mask adherence. I can’t remember the last time I entered a public building of any kind and saw someone not wearing a mask.
Connecticut is also fourth in the country in vaccination rate.
All of this is a reminder of how much geography matters. Where you choose to live can have a direct impact on your health and well being. The school that your child attends can either aggressively fight racism or allow it to fester and grow. The people who you elect to public office can sometimes be the difference between living and dying.
I’m feeling fortunate about where I live today. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of my fellow Americans living in states and communities very different than my own.
