Can’t Stand Cant ..By Clarice Feldman

[mystery-ak]

April 18, 2021
Can’t Stand Cant
By Clarice Feldman

I can’t stand any more cant -- the hypocritical, sanctimonious blather so common to our public and private educational institutions, the media, politicians, interest groups and corporations. Neither can more and more people -- and this week, across a variety of fields, they are hitting back at it. It’s as if the giant fog beclouding minds is beginning to disperse.

Hero of the Week: Andrew Gutmann

I like private schools. I think that for those who can afford them, they can provide an 'out' from the poor educations available at too many government-sponsored schools. I have, however, been horrified to read letters from heads of otherwise very good ones, endorsing -- if not openly, then subtly -- critical race theory, Black Lives Matter, and the very notion of  “systemic racism.” So I was delighted to read the letter by Andrew Gutmann, father of a student at Brearley, a very high-priced New York school, who attacks the school leadership for their “cowardly and appalling lack of leadership by appeasing an anti-intellectual, illiberal mob, and then allowing the school to be captured by that same mob.”  I can only give you a summary of its highlights, but please read it all. (What he says is equally applicable to the same hypocrisy evident in far too many colleges and universities around the country.)

He says he “cannot tolerate a school that not only judges my daughter by the color of her skin, but encourages and instructs her to prejudge others by theirs,” something he correctly argues desecrates the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders. As for systemic racism, Gutmann denies there is any such thing, and that there has not been any in the U.S. for more than 50 years. “To state otherwise is a flat-out misrepresentation of our country’s history and adds no understanding to any of today’s societal issues.” Differences in outcome are not evidence of “systemic racism,” he notes. “Facile and unsupported beliefs such as these are the polar opposite to the intellectual and scientific truth for which Brearley claims to stand.” As for the often-heard calls for “conversations about race,” he is just as blunt. They do not want an honest conversation about race, they want only to propagandize the false notion that blacks are helpless victims who, no matter their skills, talent or hard work, cannot succeed. In fact, he correctly tags such beliefs “racism.”

more
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/04/cant_stand_cant.html