It seems it developed not in the Academy, where we expect theories to be raised, but in the legal academy. That's right, in law School. Perhaps the fact it originated in law schools explains why I've been ignorant of it--I'm a practicing lawyer, and so have been ignoring my law school days for many years. Law school as I experienced it had very little to do with the practice of law.
I became aware of CRT when glancing through Google News and saw a headline about it being banned from public schools by the State of Idaho. Bans imposed by government always interest me. Bans applied to what is taught in schools are especially intriguing. When legislatures seek to limit what is learned, red flags should fly.
In fact, flags have been flying, but of a different sort--flags of the chattering armies of what has been called the Culture War. This is the sort of thing pundits (and pulpits?) delight in, and though I avoid them (both!) I can't help but hear or read of what they say. What they say about CRT is, like all they say, predictable. It continues to baffle me that people are paid large sums of money for telling us exactly what it may be expected they will tell us, but it seems we so enjoy people telling us things, in particular things we like to think, that they will continue to do so.
I read on some of the websites dealing with this issue claims to the effect that CRT is somehow based on or related to Marxism. Idaho in its zeal to ban, or perhaps we should say purge, certain ideas from its schools has also apparently banned Socialism and Marxism. I don't think Communism was mentioned, but there's time enough to ban many ideas if its legislature is so inclined.
I wonder sometimes what people think Socialism to be. I doubt they think it has much to do with the government owning the means of production. What it is imagined Marxism consists of I cannot say. For all I know, CRT may share certain characteristics with the theory behind Marxism. Whether it does or does not will, of course, depend on what it is, but in the realm of the media and cyberspace, where taking the time to think is discouraged the tendency is exclaim and declare. Generally, what is proclaimed is left unchallenged or if it is challenged then we can't be bothered to expend the effort to decide what actually is the case.
It seems that CRT involves the claim that Racism is a feature of society, and is embedded in our political and social institutions, including the legal system, resulting in the perpetuation of racial inequality. In other words, it encompasses the view that racism is systemic in our society. It seems that it makes the same or similar claims regarding sexuality and gender identification. Unsurprisingly, it rejects claims that racism is in the nature of an aberration and that acts of racism are isolated events, unrepresentative of society as a whole.
When it comes to the legal system, a legal realist would accept that the laws, their enactment, interpretation and enforcement are influenced by race and other considerations, social and economic. It seems naive to think otherwise. For my part, I think it's apparent that racism is a feature of our society.
What seemingly raises concerns in the State of Idaho and elsewhere, however, is the perception that what CRT means in practice is the active denigration of our society, our religion, our government, our nation, and white people in particular. It's claimed that white students come home or will come home from school wondering if something is wrong with them for being white and therefore oppressive and bigoted, or claiming that their parents are, or belittling our Republic. It's said that CRT generates a kind of reverse racism and condemns efforts made in the law and society to promote equality as inadequate or worse.
It isn't difficult for me to imagine proponents of CRT making such claims. Righteousness and zeal are characteristics of those of us who believe they perceive a great injustice and vow to eradicate it, as is the demonization of opponents to the cause. It isn't difficult to see that such claims are bound to anger and infuriate people who, while trying to live their lives, find themselves considered the successors of evil people, and perpetuators of the terrible consequences of their acts.
It must be acknowledged that it's quite possible to overstate such claims and make generalizations which have little or no basis in fact when it comes to racism, when it comes to most anything for that matter. Take the 1619 Project, for example. Personally, I find it unreasonable to assert that the history of racism and slavery in North America began when 20 or so enslaved Africans were snatched from a Portuguese ship and brought to what is now Virginia. Also, I think it unreasonable to claim that slavery was a uniquely American phenomenon.
It's nice to think the very real problem of racism in our society could be acknowledged and addressed intelligently. Whether it is the nature of the times or there are other reasons, though, we seem incapable of thoughtfully and pragmatically addressing anything serious. Resentment and rage are reactions to be expected whenever a criticism is made that suggests there are problems to be solved, or that we're at fault or deficient in some sense.
Which brings me to the figure appearing at the top of this post. Represented there are Achilles and his nemesis, the tortoise. The philosopher Zeno imagined a race between the hero and a humble tortoise. Confidant that he'll win the race, Achilles gives the tortoise a head start. Zeno claimed that Achilles would never reach the tortoise, however. Achilles must first reach the spot where the tortoise started. However, when he does the tortoise has move forward. However small a distance it has moved, Achilles must reach that point before passing it. But the tortoise will have moved again before Achilles gets there. So, he'll never even catch up to the tortoise. Zeno is famous for his paradoxes, and this is one of them.
Where racism is concerned, are we Achilles pursuing the tortoise? Will it always be there in front of us? It has a head start.
