Monster Liberty
October 10, 2023 8:46 PM Subscribe
There's been a great deal of media coverage over the past couple of years about the meteoric rise of Moms for Liberty, a well-funded and somewhat secretive Republican-aligned group aimed at expunging supposed "woke" or "progressive" influences from American education. But Pennridge High School that night illustrated a story that's gotten much less attention: The response of fed-up parents and educators who, without anything close to the resources of their conservative opponents, are organizing a grassroots effort to restore American schools to their intended purpose, that of educating children to be citizens of a democracy and full participants in an open society.
> Before the meeting, people exchanged wisecracks about "talented clappers" — an inside-joke reference to an email circulated among local conservatives that appealed for sympathetic outsiders to turn out and applaud the right-wing agenda: "You do not need to be a resident to attend and clap," it advised, for "policies that bless and protect our children."
During the George Floyd protests in 2020, conservatives claimed that the protesters were bused in from out of state.
They made similar "outside agitators" claims in the days of Martin Luther King Jr. too.
Every accusation is a confession.
posted by AlSweigart at 9:54 PM on October 10, 2023 [75 favorites]
During the George Floyd protests in 2020, conservatives claimed that the protesters were bused in from out of state.
They made similar "outside agitators" claims in the days of Martin Luther King Jr. too.
Every accusation is a confession.
posted by AlSweigart at 9:54 PM on October 10, 2023 [75 favorites]
This is so inspiring.
And to me, it's both surprising - because the narrative we're mostly getting in the media is that the falsely-named Moms for Liberty and their collaborators are succeeding - and unsurprising - because I keep getting the sense, unscientific as it is, that the vast majority of American parents love their kids, want the best for them, and understand that the bigotry and falsehoods being pushed by the right wing are not good for their kids. I was struck by the parents in the linked story expressing concern that if their kids are fed this warped curriculum now, they won't know how to cope with the real world when they go off to college.
I wonder if there's a way to actually prosecute malfeasance - are there sunshine laws being broken, or budgeting processes? Are there conflict of interest laws being violated? The dishonesty - from hiding the links behind the consulting agreement, to the whole nonsense with the library books - is so appalling.
But mostly I'm just so inspired by all these folks. I am ESPECIALLY inspired by the folks choosing to run for school board themselves.
There is an organization working to get more progressive candidates involved in local races like this: Contest Every Race. I've done some text-banking with them, and they seem to be doing really great work.
I am really, really glad to have read this story. Thank you so much for posting it, Artw!
posted by kristi at 10:00 PM on October 10, 2023 [30 favorites]
And to me, it's both surprising - because the narrative we're mostly getting in the media is that the falsely-named Moms for Liberty and their collaborators are succeeding - and unsurprising - because I keep getting the sense, unscientific as it is, that the vast majority of American parents love their kids, want the best for them, and understand that the bigotry and falsehoods being pushed by the right wing are not good for their kids. I was struck by the parents in the linked story expressing concern that if their kids are fed this warped curriculum now, they won't know how to cope with the real world when they go off to college.
I wonder if there's a way to actually prosecute malfeasance - are there sunshine laws being broken, or budgeting processes? Are there conflict of interest laws being violated? The dishonesty - from hiding the links behind the consulting agreement, to the whole nonsense with the library books - is so appalling.
But mostly I'm just so inspired by all these folks. I am ESPECIALLY inspired by the folks choosing to run for school board themselves.
There is an organization working to get more progressive candidates involved in local races like this: Contest Every Race. I've done some text-banking with them, and they seem to be doing really great work.
I am really, really glad to have read this story. Thank you so much for posting it, Artw!
posted by kristi at 10:00 PM on October 10, 2023 [30 favorites]
Why is it that conservative groups seem so much better organized about this stuff? Is it money? Is it that outrage has an incredible focusing power? Are liberal efforts more diffuse in what they want to accomplish? (Healthcare! No, environment! UBI!) A discouragement effect of "the status quo won't change, we're doomed"?
Regardless, I'm glad to see any sort of pushback like this. My mom in FL is still having to scan all of her media to demonstrate to the state that none of it is on their protested list. My wife deals with Trumper parents, but the kids seem to be just fine and are very supportive of their peers.
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:03 PM on October 10, 2023 [9 favorites]
Regardless, I'm glad to see any sort of pushback like this. My mom in FL is still having to scan all of her media to demonstrate to the state that none of it is on their protested list. My wife deals with Trumper parents, but the kids seem to be just fine and are very supportive of their peers.
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:03 PM on October 10, 2023 [9 favorites]
Why is it that conservative groups seem so much better organized about this stuff?
The answer is simple - they have to be. They don't have actual grassroots support (hence the term "astroturf"), so they have to counterbalance that with organization, as organization is the force multiplier. But at the end of the day, that's all organization can do - multiply the force a group has, and when a group cannot naturally attract support, organization will only take them so far - especially when the other side also organizes.
posted by NoxAeternum at 10:21 PM on October 10, 2023 [20 favorites]
The answer is simple - they have to be. They don't have actual grassroots support (hence the term "astroturf"), so they have to counterbalance that with organization, as organization is the force multiplier. But at the end of the day, that's all organization can do - multiply the force a group has, and when a group cannot naturally attract support, organization will only take them so far - especially when the other side also organizes.
posted by NoxAeternum at 10:21 PM on October 10, 2023 [20 favorites]
Why is it that conservative groups seem so much better organized about this stuff?
more soroses - fascist republicanism doesn't come free
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:27 PM on October 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
more soroses - fascist republicanism doesn't come free
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:27 PM on October 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
Those People have called in SIX BOMB THREATS to our public library and half the schools and some school employee's homes here. Guess what kicked that off? Moms for Liberty rolling into town.
I will note that we have a fervent anti-trans activist in our town that seems to have gotten herself in league with them (this is the same shithead who came to Pride and shamed the shit out of a friend of mine, who is still denying her obvious bisexuality and feeling shitty every time she finds a girl hot). Her kid came out as trans and now she blames the school. We're all tired of this BS.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:36 PM on October 10, 2023 [31 favorites]
I will note that we have a fervent anti-trans activist in our town that seems to have gotten herself in league with them (this is the same shithead who came to Pride and shamed the shit out of a friend of mine, who is still denying her obvious bisexuality and feeling shitty every time she finds a girl hot). Her kid came out as trans and now she blames the school. We're all tired of this BS.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:36 PM on October 10, 2023 [31 favorites]
Why is it that conservative groups seem so much better organized about this stuff? Is it money? Is it that outrage has an incredible focusing power? Are liberal efforts more diffuse in what they want to accomplish? (Healthcare! No, environment! UBI!) A discouragement effect of "the status quo won't change, we're doomed"?
Literally every named right-wing group is running on dark money from billionaires- Koch, Mercer, Mellon-Scaife. The point of accumulating that kind of money is to be able to convert it into power, and this is one of the ways that works. Conservatives are continually accusing left-wing causes of being bankrolled by imaginary communist billionaires both in that Karl Rove "attack on your own weaknesses" strategy and because they literally cannot conceive of any other model of organization.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:53 PM on October 10, 2023 [62 favorites]
Literally every named right-wing group is running on dark money from billionaires- Koch, Mercer, Mellon-Scaife. The point of accumulating that kind of money is to be able to convert it into power, and this is one of the ways that works. Conservatives are continually accusing left-wing causes of being bankrolled by imaginary communist billionaires both in that Karl Rove "attack on your own weaknesses" strategy and because they literally cannot conceive of any other model of organization.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:53 PM on October 10, 2023 [62 favorites]
Why is it that conservative groups seem so much better organized about this stuff?
Because this has been the conservative playbook since the 1980s. Seriously - I highlighted this quote from the article itself, because it exactly echo something I read years ago in an article about "how the Religious Right got its footing:
Groups like Moms for Liberty have zeroed in on school boards, because, as Wurz pointed out, they are usually chosen in low-profile, low-turnout elections, making it easier to organize an electoral takeover.
This what conservative groups have been doing since the 1980s - getting "entry-level" political positions like this. School boards, assistant dog catcher, whatever, in small towns; where the elections are low-turnout and the stakes are small. Lots of these openings are unopposed. And think about it - when you go vote, you aren't just voting for just the president and your congressional representative. There's also this list of other positions like circuit judges, city council reps, etc. And even here in New York, most of those lower-level positions are one candidate running unopposed - and odds are you've never heard of any of those people.
What the next step is after this, for most, is to then move to the next step up - often another unopposed position. But now they can say that they have X number of years of political experience. And then a couple years later they go up another step. Maybe a few more people have heard of them now, but in a vague way, like "yeah, I think I remember that name being mentioned?" This time they maybe up against someone, but you don't know who the other person is, so compared to a total nobody maybe you'd go for someone you'd at least heard of. And then a couple years later they move a step up, now boasting a decade or so of political experience. And so on.
And that's how you get people like Lauren Boebert in Congress - people starting in small-stakes elections years ago and working their way up.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:54 AM on October 11, 2023 [23 favorites]
Because this has been the conservative playbook since the 1980s. Seriously - I highlighted this quote from the article itself, because it exactly echo something I read years ago in an article about "how the Religious Right got its footing:
Groups like Moms for Liberty have zeroed in on school boards, because, as Wurz pointed out, they are usually chosen in low-profile, low-turnout elections, making it easier to organize an electoral takeover.
This what conservative groups have been doing since the 1980s - getting "entry-level" political positions like this. School boards, assistant dog catcher, whatever, in small towns; where the elections are low-turnout and the stakes are small. Lots of these openings are unopposed. And think about it - when you go vote, you aren't just voting for just the president and your congressional representative. There's also this list of other positions like circuit judges, city council reps, etc. And even here in New York, most of those lower-level positions are one candidate running unopposed - and odds are you've never heard of any of those people.
What the next step is after this, for most, is to then move to the next step up - often another unopposed position. But now they can say that they have X number of years of political experience. And then a couple years later they go up another step. Maybe a few more people have heard of them now, but in a vague way, like "yeah, I think I remember that name being mentioned?" This time they maybe up against someone, but you don't know who the other person is, so compared to a total nobody maybe you'd go for someone you'd at least heard of. And then a couple years later they move a step up, now boasting a decade or so of political experience. And so on.
And that's how you get people like Lauren Boebert in Congress - people starting in small-stakes elections years ago and working their way up.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:54 AM on October 11, 2023 [23 favorites]
Sorry: the moral of my story is - tip that "low-turnout" trait on its head and vote for everything. Especially now, when it's possible to actually get info on the nobodies you've ever heard of by looking at sample ballots and then looking people up online. And mail-in voting. (The best-informed vote I ever cast was in 2020, because I was voting by mail and looked up EACH AND EVERY candidate on a Board of Elections site as I was voting. It definitely affected one of my choices.)
....Another bright spot - as I write this, I'm listening to the radio, and there's a piece now about a handful of the authors whose books have been getting banned recently, and a number of them are saying that their sales and speaking engagements have gone WAY up. (To be fair, others are saying that they've seen their speaking engagements go down, because they work with schools...)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:59 AM on October 11, 2023 [23 favorites]
....Another bright spot - as I write this, I'm listening to the radio, and there's a piece now about a handful of the authors whose books have been getting banned recently, and a number of them are saying that their sales and speaking engagements have gone WAY up. (To be fair, others are saying that they've seen their speaking engagements go down, because they work with schools...)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:59 AM on October 11, 2023 [23 favorites]
And then a couple years later they move a step up, now boasting a decade or so of political experience. And so on.
And that's how you get people like Lauren Boebert in Congress - people starting in small-stakes elections years ago and working their way up.
Except that's wrong. Lauren Boebert never held office before being elected to Congress. Marjorie Taylor Greene didn't work her way up, she was also elected to Congress without ever holding any other office. Ditto Elise Stefanik. Weirdly Matt Gaetz did first get elected as a state rep in Florida before being elected to Congress, but prior to that he never held office at the local level. None of these people started out in "small-stakes" elections. None of these current office-holders started their careers running for dogcatcher.
This misleading canard that Republicans have been diligently working their way up from lower offices and if only Democrats would do the same needs to stop because it a) is a form of victim-blaming and b) greatly diminishes the extraordinary role dark money plays in supporting these extreme candidates. There's an enormous pool of money providing direct and indirect support to candidates like Boebert, and that same pool of money is also what's fueling Mom's for Liberty's attack against local school boards.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:20 AM on October 11, 2023 [71 favorites]
And that's how you get people like Lauren Boebert in Congress - people starting in small-stakes elections years ago and working their way up.
Except that's wrong. Lauren Boebert never held office before being elected to Congress. Marjorie Taylor Greene didn't work her way up, she was also elected to Congress without ever holding any other office. Ditto Elise Stefanik. Weirdly Matt Gaetz did first get elected as a state rep in Florida before being elected to Congress, but prior to that he never held office at the local level. None of these people started out in "small-stakes" elections. None of these current office-holders started their careers running for dogcatcher.
This misleading canard that Republicans have been diligently working their way up from lower offices and if only Democrats would do the same needs to stop because it a) is a form of victim-blaming and b) greatly diminishes the extraordinary role dark money plays in supporting these extreme candidates. There's an enormous pool of money providing direct and indirect support to candidates like Boebert, and that same pool of money is also what's fueling Mom's for Liberty's attack against local school boards.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:20 AM on October 11, 2023 [71 favorites]
And that's how you get people like Lauren Boebert in Congress - people starting in small-stakes elections years ago and working their way up.All of those billionaire dollars help here, too. They fund a training network – if you look like their kind of candidate and unprincipled enough to be a loyal Republican caucus member, there are training events where they’ll help you learn how to run for office, work on slogans and policies, get templates for legislation to propose, and networking events to meet donors and people who might work on your campaign (part of why George Santos got so far is that he slotted into that machinery, leaving a lot of surprised people when the image turned out to be fake).
Democratic candidates have less of that and since there isn’t a huge media network ready to start shilling for them a lot of potential candidates never get started or burn out on the lower rungs. It’s so tedious dealing with the “both sides are the same” or “the president is a Democrat, why aren’t we getting everything I want?” types online, imagine having to do that at every meeting running for city council!
posted by adamsc at 5:32 AM on October 11, 2023 [11 favorites]
AlSweigart, Busing in people is definitely a "conservative" thing, I first noticed it during the Tea Party demonstrations. I've had a bit of experience since then helping organize rallies locally in Florida and During one rally 3 or 4 years ago at which Matt Gaetz was supposed to show up but didn't I actually talked to some of them. They were bussed in from The Villages and were just having a grand old day out.
posted by lordrunningclam at 5:41 AM on October 11, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by lordrunningclam at 5:41 AM on October 11, 2023 [5 favorites]
Busing to rallies is a heavily Republican-leaning thing here in DC. I work on the hill (not in politics) and you could tell when there was something around one of the hot button issues because just outside of the Capitol Police’s vehicle restriction area everything would be jammed full of charter buses – anything abortion related, it’d be a throng of Catholic school kids in uniform; old people bused in to talk about the evils of the affordable care act, etc. and they’d usually leave as soon as the reporters put their cameras away.
Democratic groups do that occasionally but there was a noticeable contrast because they weren’t afraid to use the metro and tended to be much better at not leaving trash behind.
posted by adamsc at 5:53 AM on October 11, 2023 [14 favorites]
Democratic groups do that occasionally but there was a noticeable contrast because they weren’t afraid to use the metro and tended to be much better at not leaving trash behind.
posted by adamsc at 5:53 AM on October 11, 2023 [14 favorites]
Except that's wrong. Lauren Boebert never held office before being elected to Congress. Marjorie Taylor Greene didn't work her way up, she was also elected to Congress without ever holding any other office. Ditto Elise Stefanik. Weirdly Matt Gaetz did first get elected as a state rep in Florida before being elected to Congress, but prior to that he never held office at the local level. None of these people started out in "small-stakes" elections. None of these current office-holders started their careers running for dogcatcher.
Please replace "Lauren Boebert" with the phrase "people like Lauren Boebert" in my comment, then.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:53 AM on October 11, 2023 [7 favorites]
Please replace "Lauren Boebert" with the phrase "people like Lauren Boebert" in my comment, then.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:53 AM on October 11, 2023 [7 favorites]
But Majorie Taylor Greene, Elise Stefanik, and Matt Gaetz are certainly "people like Lauren Boebert"
J.D. Vance is another very young (born 1984) extreme-Right Republican who never held office before getting elected to the Senate in 2022. Ditto Anna Paulina Luna (born 1989) who just beat Charlie Crist. Madison Cawthorn (born 1995) may no longer be in Congress, but he too was elected despite never having held previous office.
Hell, even the current temporary speaker, Patrick McHenry (born 1975--wow, I honestly thought he was much older) was first elected to Congress in 2004 at age 33 having only just spent a single term as a state rep in North Carolina's House.
This idea that Republicans put in their time working their way up from dogcatcher is just another by-your-own-bootstraps myth that needs to be buried. Republicans may be targeting so-called "low stakes" elections, but it's not because they're fielding a farm team of candidates for higher offices--it's because they're deliberately enshittifying those offices by getting whatever cultural warrior they can elected.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 6:09 AM on October 11, 2023 [39 favorites]
J.D. Vance is another very young (born 1984) extreme-Right Republican who never held office before getting elected to the Senate in 2022. Ditto Anna Paulina Luna (born 1989) who just beat Charlie Crist. Madison Cawthorn (born 1995) may no longer be in Congress, but he too was elected despite never having held previous office.
Hell, even the current temporary speaker, Patrick McHenry (born 1975--wow, I honestly thought he was much older) was first elected to Congress in 2004 at age 33 having only just spent a single term as a state rep in North Carolina's House.
This idea that Republicans put in their time working their way up from dogcatcher is just another by-your-own-bootstraps myth that needs to be buried. Republicans may be targeting so-called "low stakes" elections, but it's not because they're fielding a farm team of candidates for higher offices--it's because they're deliberately enshittifying those offices by getting whatever cultural warrior they can elected.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 6:09 AM on October 11, 2023 [39 favorites]
Frank Zappa in 1985 talking about Evangelical threat
and the template for using the School Board to elevate the cray cray crazy was Michele Bachman in Minnesota who ran for but was not elected to School Board before State Senate.
posted by djseafood at 6:10 AM on October 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
and the template for using the School Board to elevate the cray cray crazy was Michele Bachman in Minnesota who ran for but was not elected to School Board before State Senate.
posted by djseafood at 6:10 AM on October 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
RonButNotStupid - the article is discussing how people are doing precisely that kind of "get a foot in the door with the smaller local races" today. Why would it be so surprising to hear that this has happened before today? Did you think that the Moral Majority organization was only endorsing candidates?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:22 AM on October 11, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:22 AM on October 11, 2023 [1 favorite]
> Why is it that conservative groups seem so much better organized about this stuff?
I often wonder how people like this find the energy to work so hard at being such absolute trash human beings every waking moment of their lives.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:39 AM on October 11, 2023 [26 favorites]
I often wonder how people like this find the energy to work so hard at being such absolute trash human beings every waking moment of their lives.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:39 AM on October 11, 2023 [26 favorites]
But that's the mistake we're making. Republicans aren't getting their foot in the door in order to build up candidates for future offices and to affect national politics. This isn't and has never been about getting someone elected to the school board so they'll have the necessary "experience" to then run for state rep and then Congress. My point is that there are plenty of well-funded Republican candidates who are immediately ascending to national office with no prior experience at all who didn't start off getting elected to the local school board. They don't need the experience because they already have enough money and support to make up for it's absence.
This is about attrition and sowing as much chaos as possible for the least amount of money. The goal isn't to build a grass-roots movement, it's to get as many people in front of as many levers as possible to do the most possible damage. It used to be we didn't have to worry about the politics of those running for sanitation commissioner because the position was both thankless and a dead end career-wise. Now we have to spend time, effort, and resources--which could be better allocated elsewhere--to make sure the office isn't held by some extremist QAnon follower because who the hell knows what kind of damage they might do. Just look at all the permanent, lasting damage being done when these people get elected to school boards.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 6:49 AM on October 11, 2023 [48 favorites]
This is about attrition and sowing as much chaos as possible for the least amount of money. The goal isn't to build a grass-roots movement, it's to get as many people in front of as many levers as possible to do the most possible damage. It used to be we didn't have to worry about the politics of those running for sanitation commissioner because the position was both thankless and a dead end career-wise. Now we have to spend time, effort, and resources--which could be better allocated elsewhere--to make sure the office isn't held by some extremist QAnon follower because who the hell knows what kind of damage they might do. Just look at all the permanent, lasting damage being done when these people get elected to school boards.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 6:49 AM on October 11, 2023 [48 favorites]
Weirdly Matt Gaetz did first get elected as a state rep in Florida before being elected to Congress, but prior to that he never held office at the local level.
Matt Gaetz's daddy was a state rep also. He got put on the ballot and funded by the state party out of pure nepotism. Incidentally, Daddy Gaetz has been talking about unretiring and running for state rep again.
posted by wierdo at 7:03 AM on October 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
Matt Gaetz's daddy was a state rep also. He got put on the ballot and funded by the state party out of pure nepotism. Incidentally, Daddy Gaetz has been talking about unretiring and running for state rep again.
posted by wierdo at 7:03 AM on October 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
Please do not use the term "Daddy Gaetz" while I'm eating.
posted by Molesome at 7:16 AM on October 11, 2023 [43 favorites]
posted by Molesome at 7:16 AM on October 11, 2023 [43 favorites]
I often wonder how people like this find the energy to work so hard at being such absolute trash human beings every waking moment of their lives.
Don’t underestimate the motivating power of spite
posted by bq at 7:19 AM on October 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
Don’t underestimate the motivating power of spite
posted by bq at 7:19 AM on October 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
Did we learn nothing from Footloose?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:41 AM on October 11, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:41 AM on October 11, 2023 [6 favorites]
I am certainly beginning to have a lot of spite towards these people.
posted by Artw at 7:41 AM on October 11, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Artw at 7:41 AM on October 11, 2023 [6 favorites]
The article mentions "flood the area with shit" as a political strategy. It's basically all you need to know.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 7:52 AM on October 11, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 7:52 AM on October 11, 2023 [11 favorites]
What's behind the national surge in book bans? A low-tech website tied to Moms for Liberty
posted by Artw at 8:02 AM on October 11, 2023
posted by Artw at 8:02 AM on October 11, 2023
the vast majority of American parents love their kids, want the best for them
I'm sure that every member of Moms for Liberty would say that they love their kids and want the best for them, and I'd believe them. (If they don't have kids, it's more complicated, but there's nothing inherently wrong with childless people trying to improve the school system.)
I find the values that they are trying to instill generally abhorrent, especially when they are trying to censor all curriculum, not only the lessons that their own children are exposed to. But their opposition stems not from their desire to harm children, but from conflicting values. For example, a Pew survey found that conservative parents value teaching obedience and religious values, while liberals prioritize tolerance.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:03 AM on October 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm sure that every member of Moms for Liberty would say that they love their kids and want the best for them, and I'd believe them. (If they don't have kids, it's more complicated, but there's nothing inherently wrong with childless people trying to improve the school system.)
I find the values that they are trying to instill generally abhorrent, especially when they are trying to censor all curriculum, not only the lessons that their own children are exposed to. But their opposition stems not from their desire to harm children, but from conflicting values. For example, a Pew survey found that conservative parents value teaching obedience and religious values, while liberals prioritize tolerance.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:03 AM on October 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
The conservative and especially religious conservative relationship with kids is complicated by how much they see their kids as property and frequently strays into outright abuse to maintain that relationship. The reason they hate schools is that schools are a place where kids might escape their control/rat them out on the abuse.
They are not doing this out of love.
posted by Artw at 8:06 AM on October 11, 2023 [29 favorites]
They are not doing this out of love.
posted by Artw at 8:06 AM on October 11, 2023 [29 favorites]
For example, a Pew survey found that conservative parents value teaching obedience and religious values, while liberals prioritize tolerance.
Conservatives want rulers. Progressives want representatives.
posted by JohnFromGR at 8:07 AM on October 11, 2023 [11 favorites]
Conservatives want rulers. Progressives want representatives.
posted by JohnFromGR at 8:07 AM on October 11, 2023 [11 favorites]
The article mentions "flood the area with shit" as a political strategy. It's basically all you need to know.
And it's pretty easy (and cheap!) to flood the zone with shit when you don't care about the consequences and your candidates are disposable rubes who think they're the savior of Western Civilization.
The problem with opposing this is that you have to actually find, fund, and support qualified individuals and commit to actual policies that are best for schools, and that's expensive and time consuming.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:12 AM on October 11, 2023 [8 favorites]
And it's pretty easy (and cheap!) to flood the zone with shit when you don't care about the consequences and your candidates are disposable rubes who think they're the savior of Western Civilization.
The problem with opposing this is that you have to actually find, fund, and support qualified individuals and commit to actual policies that are best for schools, and that's expensive and time consuming.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:12 AM on October 11, 2023 [8 favorites]
Why is it that conservative groups seem so much better organized about this stuff?
Because nobody divided them.
posted by Brian B. at 8:28 AM on October 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
Because nobody divided them.
posted by Brian B. at 8:28 AM on October 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm thrilled to see this is by Amanda Marcotte, who a million years ago was just a person with a great little political blog (Mouse Words) before jumping to the late, lamented Pandagon, and then, unfortunately Raw Story, where she switched to much more polemics, and now Salon, where she has still been mostly a political commentator. It's nice to see her have a chance to do some good long-form journalism. This was a great assembling of others' reporting and her own interviews into a very detailed narrative in a way that little of the reporting on this issue has been able to do.
posted by hydropsyche at 8:31 AM on October 11, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 8:31 AM on October 11, 2023 [9 favorites]
Our town bigot activist is now threatening to dox 900 people.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:41 AM on October 11, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:41 AM on October 11, 2023 [1 favorite]
When network members realized the books were being sold off by the library, they bought them and gave them to Laustsen to thank him for his work in uncovering the alleged shadow-banning.
I mean, aren't you supposed to burn them to purge all the evil? I suppose they did some moral calculus. Sell the dangerous pornography, and use the funds to buy wholesome propaganda. If so, what books are they buying?
Unless they're pocketing the money. Which would be a dumb way to lose your job. What is the likelihood of anti-intellectuals who promote ignorance doing something dumb?
posted by adept256 at 8:42 AM on October 11, 2023
I mean, aren't you supposed to burn them to purge all the evil? I suppose they did some moral calculus. Sell the dangerous pornography, and use the funds to buy wholesome propaganda. If so, what books are they buying?
Unless they're pocketing the money. Which would be a dumb way to lose your job. What is the likelihood of anti-intellectuals who promote ignorance doing something dumb?
posted by adept256 at 8:42 AM on October 11, 2023
The conservative and especially religious conservative relationship with kids is complicated by how much they see their kids as property and frequently strays into outright abuse to maintain that relationship. [...] They are not doing this out of love.
I see things a bit differently - you're correct that they see their kids as property, after a fashion. But I disagree that they're "not" doing this out of love. I think that in their opinion, they are doing this out of love - the problem is that they have a skewed idea of what love is.
So yeah, if you ask them, they think they're doing this out of love for their kids. It's just that their definition of "love" is super fucked-up, and good luck telling them that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:43 AM on October 11, 2023 [13 favorites]
I see things a bit differently - you're correct that they see their kids as property, after a fashion. But I disagree that they're "not" doing this out of love. I think that in their opinion, they are doing this out of love - the problem is that they have a skewed idea of what love is.
So yeah, if you ask them, they think they're doing this out of love for their kids. It's just that their definition of "love" is super fucked-up, and good luck telling them that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:43 AM on October 11, 2023 [13 favorites]
I suppose they did some moral calculus. Sell the dangerous pornography, and use the funds to buy wholesome propaganda. If so, what books are they buying?
There's something I saw once that suggests that in states where Big Oil operates, the books would likely be pro-fossil-fuel publications.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:45 AM on October 11, 2023 [1 favorite]
There's something I saw once that suggests that in states where Big Oil operates, the books would likely be pro-fossil-fuel publications.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:45 AM on October 11, 2023 [1 favorite]
My mathematic explanation about why people of the world are generally good goes like this. With the World Trade Center, it took thousands of people to build it. It took only a few to bring it down. If the world were equally divided between destruction and construction, it would be leveled.
The same is true for libraries. It takes thousand of people and hours to build up these institutions with thoughtful books but it only takes a few people to tear it apart. These conservatives are successful in their destruction because it only requires a few fanatics.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:47 AM on October 11, 2023 [14 favorites]
The same is true for libraries. It takes thousand of people and hours to build up these institutions with thoughtful books but it only takes a few people to tear it apart. These conservatives are successful in their destruction because it only requires a few fanatics.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:47 AM on October 11, 2023 [14 favorites]
Why is it that conservative groups seem so much better organized about this stuff?
I'm speculating – but maybe it's simply the case that ignorance (and its close cousin, bigotry) are just humanity's natural state of being, and have to be actively overcome.
In that scenario, there will always be some number of people ready to go to the barricades for nonsense.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 8:55 AM on October 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm speculating – but maybe it's simply the case that ignorance (and its close cousin, bigotry) are just humanity's natural state of being, and have to be actively overcome.
In that scenario, there will always be some number of people ready to go to the barricades for nonsense.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 8:55 AM on October 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
The stolen generation were thousands of Australian aboriginal children abducted from their parents and given to white families. This was a giant tragedy, just an appalling bad thing. Of course, everyone involved were 100% convinced they were doing the right and virtuous thing, at great personal sacrifice with saint-like patience and forbearance. They felt real good about it.
I think that's the key, it makes them feel good, or they're doing good, or feel like they are good. It's a bit of an ego-rush, being the good guy, having god on your side.
If you asked such people, out of context, do you think creating orphans is bad? They would say yes. Then they'd realize you tricked them, and they'd tell you how much good they're doing.
posted by adept256 at 8:59 AM on October 11, 2023 [11 favorites]
I think that's the key, it makes them feel good, or they're doing good, or feel like they are good. It's a bit of an ego-rush, being the good guy, having god on your side.
If you asked such people, out of context, do you think creating orphans is bad? They would say yes. Then they'd realize you tricked them, and they'd tell you how much good they're doing.
posted by adept256 at 8:59 AM on October 11, 2023 [11 favorites]
I'm currently reading Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez. Its a great deep dive into the US history of how we got here, including discussion of these very Moms. It's quite terrifying.
I'm so glad to hear that organized pushback (by parents) is happening and working. none of the parents I know support this garbage but then I am in the liberal commie hellhole that is the Bay Area CA.
posted by supermedusa at 9:15 AM on October 11, 2023 [6 favorites]
I'm so glad to hear that organized pushback (by parents) is happening and working. none of the parents I know support this garbage but then I am in the liberal commie hellhole that is the Bay Area CA.
posted by supermedusa at 9:15 AM on October 11, 2023 [6 favorites]
Are we the baddies?
Most people doing the most heinous things really do believe they are on the side of Good. They are in many ways brainwashed into this shit, and to their core believe in their personal righteousness. They are the hardest to get to since they have sunk so much and (rightly) lost so much to be where they are now. If they aren't doing God's work then all the stupid things they've done really are their fault.
And the rest are just in it for the money and can occasionally find some shame.
posted by cirhosis at 9:19 AM on October 11, 2023 [3 favorites]
Most people doing the most heinous things really do believe they are on the side of Good. They are in many ways brainwashed into this shit, and to their core believe in their personal righteousness. They are the hardest to get to since they have sunk so much and (rightly) lost so much to be where they are now. If they aren't doing God's work then all the stupid things they've done really are their fault.
And the rest are just in it for the money and can occasionally find some shame.
posted by cirhosis at 9:19 AM on October 11, 2023 [3 favorites]
As an outsider who is ignorant about USA politics.
Are you-all sure that these people are more organised and united than you are? Isn't that just what they appear like from the outside? Knowing humans, I bet they are every bit as stubbornly infighting and petty about their internal differences as any other group.
(Based on seeing posts by right wing Americans exorting one another to stop being petty and infighting, and to pull together just like "they" do.)
I mean, you guys are the all-powerful-cancelling-everything-with-the-woke-mind-virus lot from their perspective, aren't you?
posted by Zumbador at 9:58 AM on October 11, 2023 [8 favorites]
Are you-all sure that these people are more organised and united than you are? Isn't that just what they appear like from the outside? Knowing humans, I bet they are every bit as stubbornly infighting and petty about their internal differences as any other group.
(Based on seeing posts by right wing Americans exorting one another to stop being petty and infighting, and to pull together just like "they" do.)
I mean, you guys are the all-powerful-cancelling-everything-with-the-woke-mind-virus lot from their perspective, aren't you?
posted by Zumbador at 9:58 AM on October 11, 2023 [8 favorites]
They don’t have to be very organized to do what they do, just a little organized. Nobody normal does what they do or expects it to be done - organizing nationwide to do a coup on a what is normally boring local bureaucracy is a deeply freakish thing and so there isn’t really a lot of opposition in place to resist it.
posted by Artw at 10:10 AM on October 11, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by Artw at 10:10 AM on October 11, 2023 [9 favorites]
I mean, you guys are the all-powerful-cancelling-everything-with-the-woke-mind-virus lot from their perspective, aren't you?
Remember the height of gamergate when the small number of extremely loud freaks behind it would complain about “anti-gamergate”, an entirely illusionary group that was opposing them but was actually just lots of individual normal peoples normal reaction to a gang of weird psychos? Any “woke” opposition to the culture war freaks is pretty much the same as that.
posted by Artw at 10:14 AM on October 11, 2023 [15 favorites]
Remember the height of gamergate when the small number of extremely loud freaks behind it would complain about “anti-gamergate”, an entirely illusionary group that was opposing them but was actually just lots of individual normal peoples normal reaction to a gang of weird psychos? Any “woke” opposition to the culture war freaks is pretty much the same as that.
posted by Artw at 10:14 AM on October 11, 2023 [15 favorites]
Salon blocks VPNS (mine, at least).
12ft works tho:
https://12ft.io/proxy?&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.salon.com%2F2023%2F10%2F10%2Fmoms-for-liberty-meets-its-match-parents-in-this-swing-suburban-district-are-fighting-back
posted by Ayn Marx at 10:25 AM on October 11, 2023
12ft works tho:
https://12ft.io/proxy?&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.salon.com%2F2023%2F10%2F10%2Fmoms-for-liberty-meets-its-match-parents-in-this-swing-suburban-district-are-fighting-back
posted by Ayn Marx at 10:25 AM on October 11, 2023
This what conservative groups have been doing since the 1980s - getting "entry-level" political positions like this.
I've been reading Birchers (A-/B+ for research, maybe a C/C+ for writing), and they've been doing this since at least the '60s.
They don’t have to be very organized to do what they do, just a little organized.
The majority of all school book challenges in the 2021-22 school year came from just 11 people.
posted by box at 12:49 PM on October 11, 2023 [9 favorites]
I've been reading Birchers (A-/B+ for research, maybe a C/C+ for writing), and they've been doing this since at least the '60s.
They don’t have to be very organized to do what they do, just a little organized.
The majority of all school book challenges in the 2021-22 school year came from just 11 people.
posted by box at 12:49 PM on October 11, 2023 [9 favorites]
From the Colorado Times Recorder:
Wilburn is one of the primary organizers within the Advocates for D20 Kids Discord server. Wilburn has long been involved in conservative politics, serving as the executive director of Rocky Mountain Black Conservatives, and hosting the podcast “Uncle Tom Talks” on the Conservative Daily website, which is owned by Douglas County election conspiracy advocate Joe Oltmann, who has claimed that public school teachers “recruit kids to be gay” and has suggested that LGBT-affirming teachers should be “dragged behind a car until their limbs fall off.”posted by audi alteram partem at 3:36 PM on October 11, 2023 [1 favorite]
Wilburn’s journey to education activism began in August, 2021, when his public comment on critical race theory at a District 49 board meeting went viral. The manufactured outrage over critical race theory in D49, spread by Wilburn and others, led to the election of Ivy Liu, whose tenure saw loss of two members of D49’s executive leadership team, and her censure for quoting Hitler. Liu was recently arrested for felony charges of menacing with a weapon and false imprisonment.
A guy who represents M4L is running for School Board in my Maine town. He went to the Capitol to protest Jan 6. Another candidate from that team is also running. They've been active in efforts to ban books in our schools. A long-time school board member is running again. She's a great-grandmother supporting books and all students. And a newcomer with great credentials. So, we're assembling a campaign. M4L candidates are running in other towns in Maine and lots of other states. They appear to have funding. This is a bad time to be complacent.
The extremists got their start opposing masks in schools during Covid and oppose vaccines vigorously. They spout so much idiocy; one of them calls Jan 6 a false flag operation and blames Nancy Pelosi. Sadly, they got an Extreme Right Xtian elected to the legislature. She's got a crew at school board meetings ranting against books and clapping. Many of us have also spoken at the school board and asked them to continue policies that provide educational materials to meet a wide variety of needs; the school board has declined to remove books.
My town has been fairly conservative in the past, is growing fast, and going blue. I am so encouraged at the people standing up against hate, working to elect reasonable thoughtful people, speaking out against book bans, and supporting all kids - the LGBTQ, disadvantaged, different needs, different colors, all the kids. It's not a sure thing, but if we get out the vote, we win.
posted by theora55 at 9:16 PM on October 11, 2023 [8 favorites]
The extremists got their start opposing masks in schools during Covid and oppose vaccines vigorously. They spout so much idiocy; one of them calls Jan 6 a false flag operation and blames Nancy Pelosi. Sadly, they got an Extreme Right Xtian elected to the legislature. She's got a crew at school board meetings ranting against books and clapping. Many of us have also spoken at the school board and asked them to continue policies that provide educational materials to meet a wide variety of needs; the school board has declined to remove books.
My town has been fairly conservative in the past, is growing fast, and going blue. I am so encouraged at the people standing up against hate, working to elect reasonable thoughtful people, speaking out against book bans, and supporting all kids - the LGBTQ, disadvantaged, different needs, different colors, all the kids. It's not a sure thing, but if we get out the vote, we win.
posted by theora55 at 9:16 PM on October 11, 2023 [8 favorites]
Franklin's MAGA mayoral candidate Gabrielle Hanson poses with self-proclaimed neo-Nazi in new post
posted by non canadian guy at 4:11 PM on October 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — A photo posted Tuesday on the Telegram social media app shows controversial Franklin mayoral candidate Gabrielle Hanson posing with a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi in conjunction with a recorded interview about the controversy.Gwen Snyder is uncivil on X: "This isn't fascist creep. It's fascism on a competitive sprint."
Hanson, who has refused to dissociate herself from the white supremacists who recently showed up at a candidates forum in support of her campaign, is shown sitting next to Sean Kauffmann, head of the Tennessee Active Club.
posted by non canadian guy at 4:11 PM on October 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by JHarris at 8:54 PM on October 10, 2023 [4 favorites]