Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis seems to have the same superpower as former President Donald Trump. He has the uncanny ability to inspire the left to make utter fools of themselves by defending the indefensible. Democrats are all bent out of shape after DeSantis signed a bill requiring schools to teach about the evils of communism, and they are melting down on social media over the new law.
The Miami Herald reported:
Public school teachers in Florida will soon be required to dedicate at least 45 minutes of instruction on “Victims of Communism Day” to teach students about communist leaders around the world and how people suffered under those regimes.
Speaking at Miami’s Freedom Tower before a crowd of local lawmakers and supporters, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 395, which designates Nov. 7 as the state’s official “Victims of Communism Day,” making Florida one of a handful of states to adopt the designation.
The new legislation requires the instruction to start in the 2023-2024 school year and would include lessons on Josef Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Fidel Castro. Educators would also teach students about the “poverty, starvation, migration, systemic lethal violence, and suppression of speech” that took place under communist leaders.
“That body count of Mao is something that everybody needs to understand because it is a direct result of this communist ideology,” DeSantis said. “I know we don’t need legislation here to do this, but I think it’s our responsibility to make sure people know about the atrocities committed by people like Fidel Castro and even more recently, people like Nicolas Maduro.”
Today, I established November 7th as Victims of Communism Day to honor those who have suffered under communism and remind people of the destruction communism has caused worldwide, including a death toll exceeding 100 million.
In Florida, we will tell the truth about communism. pic.twitter.com/Ojlao8f46t
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 9, 2022
This was apparently a bridge too far for left-leaning members of the chattering class, who lashed out at the governor for daring to suggest that schools should teach about the nasty history of communism. Fred Grimm, a reporter for the Sun-Sentinel, deceptively claimed Florida had outlawed “teaching about
victims of racism.” He tweeted:
Parameters of Florida public education. Teaching about victims of communism, good. Teaching about victims of racism, bad.
Parameters of Florida public education. Teaching about victims of communism, good. Teaching about victims of racism, bad. https://t.co/uYmqPbP0Ub
— Fred Grimm (@grimm_fred) May 10, 2022
Author and “antiracism educator” Tim Wise also chimed in, demonstrating that he, like many of his compatriots, does not understand the concept of free speech:
More disregard for free speech. Compelling people to speak in a desired way about a desired thing is blatantly unconstitutional. DeSantis and his supporters are fascists.
More disregard for free speech. Compelling people to speak in a desired way about a desired thing is blatantly unconstitutional. DeSantis and his supporters are fascists.
DeSantis signs bill mandating communism lessons in class, as GOP leans on educationhttps://t.co/oy4OTOGbHJ
— Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) May 9, 2022
Vice News was particularly upset at the new legislation:
Warning: tweet contains coarse language
You can’t say gay in Florida schools but Ron DeSantis is mandating teachers talk sh*t about communism.
You can't say gay in Florida schools but Ron DeSantis is mandating teachers talk shit about communism.https://t.co/fSxtR5MmsG
— VICE News (@VICENews) May 10, 2022
What is interesting – but not surprising – is that each of these complaints is based on easily-debunked lies. Grimm’s tweet claims Florida will not teach about racism, ostensibly because of the Stop WOKE Act. What people like him don’t want you to know is that this particular legislation actually requires the teaching of black history – the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Wise has shown that his last name is not very accurate in his case. Either he does not understand that this is not a free speech issue, or he is hoping his audience does not understand that this is not a free speech issue. States determine what type of curriculum is taught in classes. If a teacher does not wish to teach in the way the government mandates, they do not have to be teachers. Besides, if a teacher wished to give lessons claiming Jim Crow was a good thing, it is doubtful Wise would want the state to allow them to do so – and for good reason.
Lastly, Vice News is also full of bovine excrement. But their particular lie has already been debunked many times over. The Parental Rights in Education law doesn’t prevent anyone from saying the word “gay.” It prohibits instruction on ANY sexuality to little children. But as I’ve often pointed out – it is far easier to lie about the law than to defend teaching seven-year-olds about sexual orientation and gender identity.
It is also important to point out the obvious hypocrisy here.
If a Democratic governor mandated that teachers instruct their students on the evils of fascism, they would not be whining about it. If educators were required to refer to slavery as a negative, they would applaud it. In fact, conservatives would react much in the same way.
But when the target is communism, these lefties get their collective panties in a bunch. The reason why is obvious, is it not? They want children growing up to embrace Marxism. It is the entire reason why they keep pushing for progressive ideology in K-12 classrooms–despite their attempts to gaslight the nation into believing they are doing no such thing. However, in this case, they are overplaying their hand. Perhaps they doth protest too much?
