For just a moment, put yourself in the perspective of the right-wing media’s intended audience. Let’s just say that you’re a fervent reader of Breitbart News Network, and perhaps have been to some “anti-wokeness” rallies in one or more state capitals. As you’re circling through different articles on the website, which probably support your already-established point of view on reality in general, or maybe scrolling through Breitbart News’ Twitter posts, you stumble upon the idea of critical race theory. Breitbart News columnists, or rather preachers of fear over whiteness losing its inherent unjust power within this country’s democratic institutions, will invoke emotions of resentment within you that connect critical race theory to your fear of racial intermixing and pollution of whiteness through educators teaching the factual history of racial oppression in U.S. institutions. This alternate reality will misconstrue the societal importance of critical race theory to be progressive liberals attempting to destroy a cherished white culture that white parents teach their white children. Understanding how people can fall under this spell requires searching through currently active disinformation tactics.

First of all, what is critical race theory? Despite what some online sources might have you think, it is actually not mind-control tactics in liberal schools to train children to believe everything is racist. In fact, critical race theory is really just, as described by the American Bar Association, the “practice of interrogating the role of race and racism in society that emerged in the legal academy and spread to other fields of scholarship. ” For some reason, many ultra-conservative news outlets and people like Tucker Carlson want their viewers to believe that critical race theory makes it so that “if you’re a straight white American, even if you’re a very small child, you’re guilty. It’s your fault. You’re a bad person.” But even in this short quotation, you can peer into the strategy behind this disinformation, pulling at the emotional strings of the audience.

Just as a reminder of what’s in store, the trending tab displayed on the Breitbart News website proudly displays clickable menu tabs such as “Covid-1984” and “Border Crisis.” I will now inspect a fairly stereotypical, right-wing column related to critical race theory, which includes both facts and fiction construed to make certain conservative spectators angry and motivated. Published on Oct. 20 and titled “Loudoun Parents’ Advocate: Money Shapes K-12 Transgender Politics,” this article connects critical race theory funding to a school’s inability to properly handle sexual assault, sympathizing with parents and teachers by providing emotional jargon. On May 28, 2021, a female student was sexually assaulted in a high school bathroom, and the school district’s response time to the incident was slow. Additionally, attorneys for the plaintiff’s family described the perpetrator as “gender fluid.” This, in addition to other cases of sexual assault which have happened throughout the year in Loudoun County Public Schools, has caused large backlash and successful suits against the perpetrators under the provisions of Title IX. Now, arguments could definitely be made that the situation in the bathroom with sexual assault was not handled properly by Loudoun County Public Schools. However, the right-wing media’s general response was not to provide factual news on the case and perhaps critique the school district’s handling of it like a normal opinion piece would, but rather to villainize the entire transgender community and divert the fury of parents toward critical race theory funding.

Instead of targeting institutional practices which make it easier for assaults to occur or the culture which gave rise to the sexual assault, they targeted the “at least $500,000 in one year [Loudoun County Public Schools] paid” for a report on the possible inherent racism within their district’s structures and on teaching students the institutional racism that exists within the country. The argument was that this money should instead be spent on resources for sexual assault protection, which is a total manipulation of the audience. Additionally, an article within the National Review, another right-wing tabloid, contained factual information about the sexual assault cases, but then connected them to parents’ fears over policy 8040, which simply acts to increase the protections of transgender students and prevent discrimination within the school district.

Now, having to sit through and read these articles and opinions that I disagree with entirely, I can understand the pattern in which emotional connections between critical race theory and events which already jostle conservatives are used to scapegoat critical race theory as the villain behind events like the sexual assault at Loudoun County Public Schools. However, these articles weren’t devised for me to read them, nor a majority of the general public. Instead, right-wing news tabloids are trying to invoke preestablished white resentment of scholars uncovering and teaching students about institutional racism and sexism within the country. And they’ve been very successful.

Disinformation about critical race theory might seem ridiculous, but it is so significant within the Republican base that it has led to legislation banning critical race theory from being taught in classrooms, such as the case with the Texas law banning critical race theory in K-12 classrooms. House Bill 3979 states teachers cannot require certain race-related concepts, including the idea that one race is inherently superior to the other race or sex, or that an individual is “’inherently racist, sexist or oppressive’ based on their race or sex.” This language is clearly a direct response to the plea of conservative parents and legislators who have both read and written disinformation on the subject based upon their preestablished suspicion of educators who offered historical facts or perspectives that disagreed with theirs. Legislation in Tennessee and Idaho has also directly targeted critical race theory by trying to stop teachers from teaching students about “anti-white” history that is really just fact.

Conservative pundits, educators and many parents believe that teaching critical race theory in schools will cause their students to feel guilty regarding their race or the country as a whole. Additionally, the belief is that by teaching history through the context of critical race theory, the opposing viewpoint will not be brought up for contemplation by students, feeding them only one source of information. This, I believe, gets into a deeper debate going on among scholars regarding whether we should teach “both perspectives” in the classroom if one of those perspectives is based in fact and the other is based in naivete regarding racist institutions or historical atrocities.

The major concern about critical race theory among people like the director of the Center for Education at the Washington Policy Center, a think tank which has denounced critical race theory, is that it will teach kids that one group of people — white people, I assume — should be hated, and that students of color will be taught it is impossible to get ahead in society. Additionally, another concern is that mandating teaching critical race theory in classrooms as factual review of American institutions and history is really presenting only the most critical viewpoint of U.S. history. However, these critics of critical race theory should call what their opposition to educators critiquing the blatantly racist state really is: opposition to the presentation of an opposing view to their own within the classroom. For this reason, I believe that while educators can introduce limited critique of critical race theory, as it is a theory, the idea should absolutely be taught to students across the country.

As college students, it is vitally important to try to remove or identify existing pretenses we have about critical race theory taught in the classroom. For, as basic as this sounds, learning about the flaws of U.S. democracy that have allowed structural racism to persist is actually important, and can help us be more knowledgeable citizens. I would encourage you to do a Google search of critical race theory and learn more about it, but that would likely lead to pages of disinformation and right-wing rhetoric. Some of which might be so well written you cannot read what’s true and what’s opinion. I therefore recommend learning much more about the topic through sources like the Associated Press, BBC, ABC, CBS or local news from your hometown.

Sean Reichbach is a freshman double-majoring in economics and philosophy, politics and law.