March 22, 2021

"This is propaganda."

Little children are always subjected to propaganda, though, so the real question is whether this is the propaganda we want for them. Let's look at the article: 

Leigh Wilton and Jessica Sullivan, Skidmore College psychology professors who study race and social interaction, say that children develop implicit bias as early as 3 months old, and at 4 years old are categorizing and developing stereotypes.... 

 Children must use cues from their parents to interact with the world around them, says Shauna Tominey, an assistant professor at Oregon State University and the author of “Creating Compassionate Kids.” “From the very beginning, children look to the adults in their lives for cues as to how to respond to others, how to interpret what they see and hear, how to respond to people they meet or learn about. Even before young children can engage in conversations, they engage in ‘social referencing’ to figure out how to respond," says Tominey.

Some of this is ordinary instruction that I've seen all my life, including as a child in the 1950s. It seemed rather anodyne to me. There are a bunch of people trying to sell their anti-racist materials. I'd like to see a deep, critical look at what's in those things. I see the reason to be skeptical. That's all I'll say.

98 comments:

Elliott A said...

There will be a boom in private schools

Joe Smith said...

Yet another grift and money grab...

Big Mike said...

I'd like to see a deep, critical look at what's in those things. I see the reason to be skeptical. That's all I'll say.

Coward.

tim maguire said...

Drag Queen story time is for the parents. The kids don't care except that the girls may love the wacky outfits.

children develop implicit bias as early as 3 months old, and at 4 years old are categorizing and developing stereotypes

This is the part that is dangerous and scary. They are pathologizing human development.

Lucid-Ideas said...

Young children and babies are hard-wired to find safety, comfort, and familiarity with peers and adults that look like them. It is genetic, and it has been around for a very long time.

What you are seeing is a concerted effort to disable this genetic programing (and not just race...a lot of things) using pneumonic suggesting and social pressure (note I did not use conditioning. It's pressure).

This is why it will fail. It will all fail.

Lucid-Ideas said...

@Tim Maguire

"Drag queen story hour"

Did you hear about the judge who was a big advocate pushing DQSH getting nailed on child pornography charges?

You better believe DQSH is 'for the adults'. Any adult that brings their child to one of these should be executed for child abuse.

narciso said...

Its child abuse, or call it properly grooming

Mr Wibble said...


This is the part that is dangerous and scary. They are pathologizing human development.


Can't create the New Soviet Man until you convince everyone that the old way of making people was flawed.

narciso said...

Of course part of this is callinv asians (white adjacent' see henry rodgers sage

DavidUW said...

I hope there will be a boom in private schools.

With a large enough homeschool/private school quotient, enough people will question why we spend so much (#1 in the world, like health care, per capita) on education and get crap out of it.

Perhaps, just maybe, vouchers will be used in more areas.

narciso said...

Thats why they are blocking tax credits for vouchers in the give away bill, along with any tax cuts.

Temujin said...

"I see the reason to be skeptical."

Yeah. Like right at the section header entitled 'On Parenting'. When WaPo deems it's time to tell you about how you parent, and that they have just the experts to do so, it's time to use it for cat poop or fish wrap. Or, use it to stimulate your kids by teaching them origami with the pages of WaPo.

Sebastian said...

"Some of this is ordinary instruction that I've seen all my life"

And much of it isn't.

"It seemed rather anodyne to me."

Anodyne. Now there's a word for prog hegemony.

"There are a bunch of people trying to sell their anti-racist materials."

"Sell." Another interesting word. Soon, we can't not buy.

"I see the reason to be skeptical. That's all I'll say."

The nice women of America see the reason to be skeptical. That's all they'll say.

Hence, the prog takeover will proceed.

Nonapod said...

The first 2 paragraphs indicate to me that this is a bit more than anodyne 1950s era instruction.

In the era of Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, many parents are wondering when the right time is to talk to their children about social justice. Experts say it’s never too early, and a new wave of tools and resources can help start the conversation.

You can enroll in a music class (virtually now) that develops understanding of gender and personhood. A drag queen story time will soon be a television show. And there are more and more children’s books that discuss intersectionality and broaden representation, plus flashcards and short videos that teach parent and toddler about anti-racism ideas.


All the language used here strongly implies CRT and social justice ideas that we're all so familiar with these days. Now it's possible that in reality all of these "new books and programs" aren't in fact all the things this article claims that they are, but I doubt it.

Mikey NTH said...

"You have to be carefully taught."

Drago said...

Lucid Ideas: "Did you hear about the judge who was a big advocate pushing DQSH getting nailed on child pornography charges?"

I am going to go out on a limb and guess the child porn judge was a really big backer of the NAMBLA-"curious" The Facebook/Google Lincoln Project.

Like others I could mention....

Assistant Village Idiot said...

Whenever social scientists say that something is evident "as early as three months old," it means It's genetic, or at best prenatal/epigenetic, but we don't want to say that, because that would mean jobs for other people, not us.

Social science research is about protecting and increasing social science jobs. Hold that thought in your head whenever any research is being put forward. If you ask yourself "Who does this mean more jobs for?" you will understand everything else.

narciso said...

You betcha, but lets have some more boring.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Isn't it odd that the left's idea of teaching children woke fill-in-the blank = skin color segregation.

I'd want my children and grand children to learn from an early age that it does not matter what we look like on the outside.

DavidUW said...

Speaking of school spending, a friendly reminder.

Whatever they (politicians, teachers' unions) say we spend on public schools, double it.

I have not seen a single state budget document that accounts for pension & retiree health care spending, nor local bond measures even IF they take into account state, local and federal spending. (I've never seen one that accounts for federal subsidies).

Adding it up, the number in California is around $21,000 per pupil spending. but you'll never hear that in CA. It's always $10k or whatever the pure state classroom spending is (no pensions etc etc).



WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Allowing the soviet Democrat party paper of record to inform us on parenting - yeah - no thanks.

MikeR said...

No comments allowed on the article, of course. Someone might disagree.

iowan2 said...

say that children develop implicit bias as early as 3 months old

What an abject lie.

This why leftists keep repeating 'follow the science'. People with credentials making such announcements that have no basis in fact.

Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus

Michael Gillespie said...

The "this" in "This is propaganda" refers to the ARTICLE, not the content that is being force-fed into the heads of preschoolers.

This is one more step down the road of splitting children from parents so that the wrong ideas don't get transmitted from parent to child. Anodyne it is not.

Rabel said...

Althouse goes Gump.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

@ MikeyNTH - I have long held that the opposite sentiment of what is taught in that song from "South Pacific" is what is really true. American Musical Theater is not a reliable source of history. Reacting with suspicion to people who are unfamiliar - anyone other than close friends and family when you are an infant, only gradually expanding as one proceeds to adulthood - is hardwired. Risking some cooperation is also hardwired, as this is how trade happened in human history, but recognising it as a risk, and understanding that it is the tribe next door that is most likely to kill the adult males and make you a slave seems to be a useful trait, and thus inherited.

Teaching children to get over that is what must be carefully taught. Even then, it is usually taught with caution and limits, for very good reasons. Think Serbs and Croats, Dinka and Nuer.

I'm Not Sure said...

"Experts say it’s never too early..."

Especially considering that experts say the world is ending soon.

Ann Althouse said...

Here's some research supporting the claim of "implicit bias" at 3 months. It's saying babies develop a preferences for faces of their own race. It's not at all surprising. The baby loves its mother and recognizes similar-looking people as familiar or friendly or something. Whether that deserves the label "implicit bias" is another matter, but it is unremarkable that animals, including human beings, have a preference for their own.

Ann Althouse said...

"a preference for their own" = a preference for their own kind.

Ann Althouse said...

In that light, there's good reason to want babies and toddlers to see different kinds of people so that they all feel familiar and friendly.

gilbar said...

a "drag time story queen"?
That's a euphemism for child raping pedophile, isn't it?

Oh! i'm sorry, i'm Wrong! the child raping pedophiles AREN'T the "drag time story queens"
According to Snopes.com, they're JUST the people that were FUNDING the "drag time story queens"
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/drag-queen-story-hour/

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/milwaukee-brett-blomme-arrested-drag-queen-story-hour-sponsor
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/court-judge-linked-to-drag-queen-story-hour-charged-with-child-porn-possession/ar-BB1eJ9MH


To the Best, of our knowledge; MANY of the young children that go to see the "drag time story queens" are NOT brutally sodomized (against their will)...
Particularly the cis female children.. Nearly ALL of them escape with out injury

Static Ping said...

If it is in WP, it is propaganda.

0_0 said...

I grew up on a military base and was raised among neighborhoods with a diverse range of children, all of whom were decently housed and had at least one parent that had a decent job with good benefits.

It was my experiences with people off base as a teen that taught me prejudice, not my parents.

Michael K said...

Blogger Ann Althouse said...
In that light, there's good reason to want babies and toddlers to see different kinds of people so that they all feel familiar and friendly.


MY sister and I were raised by a black woman. Ritmo thought that was racism.

Michael K said...

With a large enough homeschool/private school quotient, enough people will question why we spend so much (#1 in the world, like health care, per capita) on education and get crap out of it.

Perhaps, just maybe, vouchers will be used in more areas.


A school voucher proposition was on the ballot in California about 15 years ago. It was defeated by suburban white women who are now all Democrats.

hstad said...

Here's the clue - "...Leigh Wilton and Jessica Sullivan, Skidmore College psychology professors who study race and social interaction..." When your job is to "study race and social interaction..." you will automatically come at this subject with your own "bias". Just more hogwash driven by pseudo-intellectuals at Colleges.

Am I biased when I pick In-N-Out Burgers versus McDonald's or Burger King for my meal? Of course I am. Everyday all of us make daily decisions in our lives that discriminate (distinction - differentiate) - it's called choice. For these two educators everything is about race since their livelihood is dependent on this subject. Educators study "race and social interaction" pushing to get more funding so their jobs are secure.

DavidUW said...

Michael K, I remember the school voucher proposition. I believe it was the only proposition I ever voted for. The rest are all automatic no's.

Yes, it was defeated by suburbanites who felt their local public school was fine (and they paid for it via their inflated real estate values so mustn't do anything to remove the reason for the price premium).

MikeD said...

Your children belong to The State!

YoungHegelian said...

Building the New Soviet Child, one kid at a time!

Ray said...

The Washington Post is propaganda adjacent.

hstad said...


Blogger Sebastian said..."It seemed rather anodyne to me." Anodyne. Now there's a word for prog hegemony. 3/22/21, 12:37 PM

I had to look up this word - Anodyne - cause I thought AA meant - a painkilling drug - or medicine - that's my personal experience.

But, Sebastian you're correct - Anodyne - means inoffensive or neutral - another progressive tactic to deflect from the real issue - 'Controlling Society for Progressive Goals'.

Owen said...

Why are public funds being spent to displace the parents’ shaping of their children’s personal ethics?

Francisco D said...

There are a bunch of people trying to sell their anti-racist materials.

Yes. It is a SALES JOB based on an intentionally superficial understanding of developmental psychology and brain development.

Amadeus 48 said...

I don't have much to do at the moment, but I don't want to take on that project of reviewing the propaganda in anti-racist baby training. To get any purchase, the outcome can only be one thing, and that is that the propaganda is totally appropriate. White children need to understand that they are all racist and fragile (it is a lot like the doctrine of original sin, isn't it?) and black children need to understand and be able to identify their oppression and oppressors.

Amadeus 48 said...

"It's saying babies develop a preferences for faces of their own race. It's not at all surprising. The baby loves its mother and recognizes similar-looking people as familiar or friendly or something."

And to think I thought it was all the car-jackings of Infiniti SUVs with the kid in the child seat that left three-month-olds with a bias against some people. And at four, they are categorizing and developing stereotypes. But do they know instinctively, if they are white, never to use THAT WORD? Or do they want to use THAT WORD? Do black babies get to use THAT WORD?

Baby antiracists to the rescue!

We have that going for us.

Amadeus 48 said...

"In that light, there's good reason to want babies and toddlers to see different kinds of people so that they all feel familiar and friendly."

Thereby undoing the work of generations to get children to be wary of strangers.

The horror! The horror!

Iman said...

Or, use it to stimulate your kids by teaching them origami with the pages of WaPo.

Or, substitute the WaPoo for the Charmin in your kids’ bathroom and tell ‘em this, along with the Sears Catalogue, was what was used before the TP was invented.

Joe Smith said...

""a preference for their own" = a preference for their own kind."

This should not be a revelation to any sentient being...

It will be difficult to re-program thousands of years of evolution, but I'm sure the effort will be made.

Michael K said...

I consider you a troll but...

Surely you white children were the greatest joys in her life. Surely, she wished she were a bigger part of your white family. That is sad to think that.

She was an integral part of our family until she died at age 95 in a Catholic nursing home (She had converted because we were Catholic) that my sister had arranged for her once she could no longer live on her own. She was as much a part of my family from 1941, when she came to live with us, until 55 years later. She lived long enough to hold my youngest daughter who is 30. You virtue signalers know nothing but what is in your own imagination.

Mark said...

Little children are always subjected to propaganda

Ah, the relativist comes out.

Mark said...

I hope there will be a boom in private schools.

Meanwhile Dem cities and states are looking for all manner of ways to compel non-public schools to adopt LGBTQ+ and CRT and other elements of the leftist agenda into the schools' policies and practices.

Amadeus 48 said...

"Meanwhile Dem cities and states are looking for all manner of ways to compel non-public schools to adopt LGBTQ+ and CRT and other elements of the leftist agenda into the schools' policies and practices."

They are doing the important work that should never be done. And we know it will work out beautifully for everyone.

I'm Not Sure said...

"Meanwhile Dem cities and states are looking for all manner of ways to compel non-public schools to adopt LGBTQ+ and CRT and other elements of the leftist agenda into the schools' policies and practices."

Democrats: "Our beliefs are so crappy we have to force them on you."

Dust Bunny Queen said...

children develop implicit bias as early as 3 months old, and at 4 years old are categorizing and developing stereotypes....

Well DUH!!! This is a human instinctual characteristic. Categorizing and stereotyping things are how we survive in life. We do this without words, through observation and experience.

You learn that some categories of things are good and some categories are not good and can in fact be dangerous. SNAKES...as a category are or can be dangerous. SO...a smart human who wants to survive, will stereotype ALL snakes as a potential danger. THEN when that human becomes more adult/educated/experienced...that human will determine the difference between a rattlesnake and a gopher snake.

There is nothing wrong or nefarious about this process. IT IS SURVIVAL.


Ken B said...

Generations of white slave owners were raised by black women — who were slaves. This might not be as effective as some think.

Michael K said...

The Karen B who thinks Covid trumps all, weighs in on slave owners. I was not aware there were any outside of Africa and the Middle East. The topic of this thread was exposing children to people of other races. I did not realize it was a slavery thread.

Rory said...

"Little children are always subjected to propaganda, though, so the real question is whether this is the propaganda we want for them."

Humans will always be subject to biases, but the real question is whether a choice between propagandas is the goal.

Skippy Tisdale said...

Ann wrote:

In that light, there's good reason to want babies and toddlers to see different kinds of people so that they all feel familiar and friendly.

Really? You want children to see all people as "familiar and friendly"? Would that include Dr. Nassar and Marybeth Tinning?

Shouting Thomas said...

The work of Satan is never done.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

David UW,

I hope there will be a boom in private schools.

So do others. Like, say, the crew of Black Hebrew Israelites with the van full of pipe bombs parked in front of the local yeshiva.

Wait . . . that's not what you meant?

Seriously, all this "anodyne" stuff -- as anodyne as The Sneetches, if you can remember past the cancellation barrier -- was limp and weak b/c it never tried to make its points forcefully. Now it can, and will. That online music-instruction program, titled "Mister Jim" (I think -- how will long with the "Mister" survive, though?) is quoted only as saying that pink and blue are just colors. Well, that has zero to do with music anyway, but as it is, it might very easily have been written 70 years ago, and would've been inoffensive pabulum even then. But the other stuff -- that kids are part of systemic racism and "unconscious bias" when they're a few months old -- that's flat-out evil. What are the kids to make of anyone different in any regard? Their uncle who writes with his left hand? Their cousin who's a redhead? Ought they to meet every different eye shape early on, so that the exercise that worked for Chinese doesn't backfire when it comes to Koreans and Japanese or (Heaven forfend) Indians? Should they hear all languages, so that none might come to seem "unfamiliar" or "threatening"? Ought they to eat all foods, so that none of them seem icky, and how do you do that w/o "cultural appropriation"? Clothing, ditto.

Take this, not to the extreme, but merely to logical extensions, and it's apparent that its sole purpose is to make it possible to say of any white parent that s/he's doing it wrong, and the "experts" should take it from here.

joe said...

As a father of 4, I can definitively state that I never wondered when was the right time to talk with my kids about social justice. No sane person thinks this way. I thought a lot about how to prevent my kids from being assholes or jerks. I thought a lot about how to instill a sense of empathy for others in them. But i decidedly never taught them to think of others in categories - what kind of a monster would? I taught them (or at least did my best to teach them) to see people as unique individuals who bring interesting and different perspectives on life into their world. And, to learn from that what they could.

I (we really) have homeschooled our kids. We did not make this decision to hide from the world around us. It just worked better for most (but not all - and we course corrected) of our kids. But, it has become clear to me that we have benefited greatly for reasons we did not expect from this decision. I can't even imagine what it would be like if my 11 year old were subjected to this shit all day lone in a public school.

n.n said...

Diversity [dogma] (i.e. color judgments), which denies individual dignity, individual conscience, intrinsic value, and normalizes color blocs (e.g. people of color), color quotas, and affirmative discrimination, is a progressive condition... one step forward, two steps backward. It is, ostensibly, politically congruent, or so we are warned. In the secular pursuit to consolidate capital and control, pleading a democratic/dictatorial mandate, all's fair in lust and abortion.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Altouse wrote: "Little children are always subjected to propaganda, though . . ."
I disagree!
Children are certainly taught to accept some teaching as given. Is "don't play with matches" propaganda? Howabout "Don't hit other children," or "Nazis were bad people"?
We taught children to accept some teaching as given long, long before the word or the concept of "propaganda" was invented.

n.n said...

Sex: male and female. Gender is sex-correlated attributes (e.g. sexual orientation): masculine and feminine, respectively. The drag queen is trans-social. Personhood begins with human evolution from conception. The facts of life are why leftists tried to deny civil rights and normalize rape... rape-rape culture, and in the process forwarding self-incrimination of the hunters, judges, and protesters. Lose your Pro-Choice, selective, opportunistic quasi-religion, its relativistic sibling ethics, its politically congruent cousin law. #HateLovesAbortion

Social justice anywhere is injustice everywhere. Principles... whatever, be a Good American.

RMc said...

I'd like to see a deep, critical look at what's in those things. I see the reason to be skeptical. That's all I'll say.

#cancelalthousenow

n.n said...

Kneel and avert your eyes. Just do it!

Szoszolo said...

There aren't a lot of comments (so far), but so far every one is negative. Two examples:

"There isn’t a shred of evidence or any studies showing that the insidious and divisive anti-racist ideology is good for toddlers much less anyone. Any parent would be out of their mind to put their kids through the indoctrination."

"Thanks for the warning. Now maybe we can protect our kids from these social-justice psychopaths."

Also check out #wokebreakingpoint on Twitter. The tide is turning.

Michael K said...

In that light, there's good reason to want babies and toddlers to see different kinds of people so that they all feel familiar and friendly.

Thatn topic seems to bring out the trolls.

Readering said...

Aren't these things children are also supposed to learn in their religious education? (12 years sectarian schooling with weekly services (at least) for me.) But I suppose many more kids raised in a secular environment now.

Readering said...

I see Michael K on several rounds of his self-appointed troll patrol.

n.n said...

Color bias is intrinsic. Color prejudice (e.g. diversity) is progressive.

Unknown said...

"there's good reason to want babies and toddlers to see different kinds of people so that they all feel familiar and friendly."

I'm your vehicle baby, I'll take you anywhere you wanna go.

Michael K said...


Blogger Readering said...

I see Michael K on several rounds of his self-appointed troll patrol.


Well, it brought you out, didn't it?

Inga said...

“In that light, there's good reason to want babies and toddlers to see different kinds of people so that they all feel familiar and friendly.”

“Thatn topic seems to bring out the trolls.”

Wait... didn’t Althouse say that at 1:01PM? Is he calling her a troll?

Paul A. Mapes said...

Anyone who doesn't know the difference between something that is subconscious and something that is implicit doesn't deserve to be regarded as an expert in anything.

DavidUW said...

Michelle the "Kulak" Thompson:
Take this, not to the extreme, but merely to logical extensions, and it's apparent that its sole purpose is to make it possible to say of any white parent that s/he's doing it wrong, and the "experts" should take it from here.
>>

Why yes, this is merely about power. I agree.

A good way to counter the constant, wearying power grabbing by the Leftists and their Teachers' Unions is to finally break the unions and their unionized public schools by expanding vouchers, or at least at a minimum, union free charter schools.




Derve Swanson said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Derve Swanson said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
n.n said...

Drag queens are trans-social, with a hint of genderphobia.

chickelit said...

The numbers regarding Black children without fathers suggests that a majority of Black babies and toddlers don't see a lot of friendly male faces early on and the ones they do see aren't daddy. And when do see a white male face it's going to be in a picture or on TV or the fees of cops pointed to with disdain. How easy it must be to teach hatred and resentment under those conditions.

PM said...

Every day is Halloween.

iowan2 said...

Readering said...
Aren't these things children are also supposed to learn in their religious education? (12 years sectarian schooling with weekly services (at least) for me.) But I suppose many more kids raised in a secular environment now.


Yes, yes children should be learning such character values and moral lessons in their rearing, from parents. Others at the parents choosing that mirror the parents values.

NOT from Govt controlled and directed entities. Govt is the absolute worst influencer of values. The. Worst. Possible.

walter said...

Children need proper role models across the spectrum.
That's why there must be Drag King Story Hour.

Unknown said...

Dust Bunny Queen said (at 3/22/21, 2:44 PM)
{...}
There is nothing wrong or nefarious about this process. IT IS SURVIVAL.

- - - - -

Precisely. And therefore we can surmise that those trying to erase or overcome our earliest, most basic survival instincts are -heh, guess what?- DEEEPLY committed to having us NOT SURVIVE.

Doo-Dah, Doo-Dah

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

DavidUW,

Michelle the "Kulak" Thompson:

Now what did I do to deserve that, I wonder? I don't think even my mysterious Eastern European ancestor was necessarily a kulak. And it's "Thomson," not "Thompson" (Irish rather than Welsh).

Actually, I liked your "great boom in private education" line (which I saw when someone else quoted it), hunted back through the thread to find the source, and credited it to you, before making use of it. I don't accuse you of wanting any such thing.

Why yes, this is merely about power. I agree.

A good way to counter the constant, wearying power grabbing by the Leftists and their Teachers' Unions is to finally break the unions and their unionized public schools by expanding vouchers, or at least at a minimum, union free charter schools.


I don't disagree with you -- though I'd say that it's ridiculous to assume that every public school teacher agrees automatically with the union, any more than every orchestral musician agrees with their union. The teachers' unions have certainly beclowned themselves this last year, but one of the reasons I despise them is that they do not, in fact, represent all their membership. They merely make a good show of pretending to do so.

I Callahan said...

Hypothetical: if babies can have implicit bias at 3 months, then maybe it’s just a natural trait of humans?

DavidUW said...

And it's "Thomson," not "Thompson" (Irish rather than Welsh).
>>>
I'm not sure which is worse, honestly. Probably the Irish because they spread their disease throughout the Western World.

>>
-- though I'd say that it's ridiculous to assume that every public school teacher agrees automatically with the union,
>>

As repeatedly stated, then DISAGREE with your damn union. I hear all these rumors of teachers who supposedly want to return to in person teaching, etc. yet I have yet to see one in practice actually vocalize this supposed "desire" derived from the "love of teaching" where it would actually matter.

The union is comprised of teachers, not mysterious "union henchmen" beating them to keep them in line. That I have not seen a single one actually do the above action to oppose the unions' position belies your assertions to the contrary.

How will the union retaliate? What are these stunning and brave teachers who supposedly want to return to their real jobs waiting for? Why can't they express this desire? Will the union bosses blow up their cars? torch their house? get them fired? I mean, you can barely fire a public school teacher for raping children, I'm supposed to believe they're fireable for speaking up at a school board meeting saying, gee, I'd like to get back to teaching kids for real in the class room again?

Again, I'm not nearly as stupid as you think I am.

Your/your husband's protestations are bullshit.



Caligula said...

This sounds somewhat like the Soviet attempt to create the New Soviet Man. Who would (among other things) never favor his own children over those of others, even when those “others” were not merely strangers but children abstracted into statistics who might live hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Of course, there are good Darwinian reasons why parents favor their own children. And thus it’s to be expected that if food is becoming scarce they’ll try to hoard some rather than share-and-share alike.

When hoarding became unlawful, it didn’t stop the hoarders: they just became better at it. Yet, since The Revolution depended on creating this New Soviet Man who would share what little he had with a child he’s never seen rather than put a little away for his own.

Such behaviors would appear to be unstoppable, but they’re not. They’re not because it’s only necessary to catch a few hoarders so one can make an example of them. Who are then subject to violence that is not merely public and extreme, but shockingly so.

It’s this need to force people to behave in some unrealistically perfect way (if The Revolution is not to be lost) that inevitably causes utopian revolutions to become blood-spattered and ultimately to create vast human charnel houses of mass murder.

Do these toddlers have “implicit bias”? Probably only to the extent that they prefer their parents to their parents’ friends, and these friends to strangers. (Yes, blame Darwin. Bad things tend to happen to toddlers who behave otherwise). But whether it’s there or not, one can be sure they’ll find it.

Where things get interesting is when they realize that they’ll not only find the bias they’re looking for, but that ordinary measures do not remove it …

Kathy said...

I don't support vouchers because they bring government control inevitably.

Anonymous said...

Ann Althouse - "In that light, there's good reason to want babies and toddlers to see different kinds of people so that they all feel familiar and friendly."

Let's cut to the chase. We're talking about black people. Blacks are 12% of the population. Have Progs figured out how to farm them out to the majority population? 'Cause, there's not enough of 'em to go around. Does the boarded up white enclave of Madison have a plan to share black people?

I grew up with black people, even had black mentors, but I ain't going to Black Week in Miami Beach. Nome Sayin'.

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bunkypotatohead said...

I think I was about 5 years old when I first heard the phrase "birds of a feather flock together".
For the next 60 years some xpurt or other has been trying to tell us that doesn't apply to humans...that I should want to hang out with people I find repulsive. But you can't change human nature with ideology. The New Soviet Man came and went in my lifetime. Antiracist Baby will too.

Misinforminimalism said...

They misspelled "Kreating Kompassionate Kids."

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

In that light, there's good reason to want babies and toddlers to see different kinds of people so that they all feel familiar and friendly.

Right. Some of those “different faces” aren’t there to offer facial recognition practice. They’re there to impart poisonous CRT hatred to my precious innocent child. I don’t want that racist bullshit bullying my little progeny. People willing to let these idiots indoctrinate their children are in for a world of hurt.

RichardJohnson said...

Yes, young children can have immediate negative reactions to others who do not look like them.I was in a hotel in northern Argentina, on my time off the rig, when the ~ 18-month old son of the hotel manager started screaming at me from 20 feet away. After I had spent a week in the hotel, he no longer got upset by my presence. His observing that his mother was calm in my presence undoubtedly helped change his mind.

My appearance was different from those he was accustomed to. I had eyeglasses; they did not. My light skin and dirty blond hair contrasted to the Indian-Mestizo swarthy skin and black hair he was accustomed to. When he was close enough, he would also have observed different eye color.

I never viewed his mother as being in any way responsible for his initial screaming. Rather, this was an instinctive reaction against the other- someone not like his crowd.

Given time, children will abandon the instinctive fear of someone who doesn't look like them. I am reminded of the (black) principal of a school where I used to teach being interviewed by the local paper about the desirability of black teachers for black students. The principal's reply was that children don't care about the color of the vessel. They care about the content of the vessel.

Jack Klompus said...

"Experts say..."

Experts at what exactly? Meanwhile last semester I tutored a college student in math who couldn't identify the properties of a rectangle.

Jack Klompus said...

"They misspelled "Kreating Kompassionate Kids."

It's great to be back at the Apollo Theater!

Lurker21 said...

Our Harvard Ed.M fourth grade teacher was quite woke fifty years ago: black history tapes, etc. They had the middle schoolers sit under their desks and pretend that they were on a slave ship. Then in high school, Night and concentration camp films. So it seems like we've gone in a long loop and circled back to where we were fifty years ago and moved on from there. "Racist toddlers," though, may be taking the woke PC thing too far.