So now I see that we're starting to come full circle: in the right-wing version of 'P.C.', one is not allowed to reflect upon history or culture, except to point out that "we're all just individuals". I know that this idea has a long history, of course, but seeing the following just made it click in my brain:
Adding insult to injury, the Arizona legislature passed a bill yesterday outlawing ethnic studies programs:HB 2281 would make it illegal for a school district to have any courses or classes that promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity “instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”
It also would ban classes that “promote resentment toward a race or class of people.”
The measure is directed at the Tuscon Unified School District’s popular Mexican-American studies department, which school officials say provides only “historical information” — not “ethnic chauvanism” as the state school superintendent has alleged. One state lawmaker tried to show how ridiculous the legislation is by proposing that schools be barred from teaching about 9/11 because it would result in hatred toward Arab-Americans; the measure failed.
