While viewing proceedings from recent Talbot County Council meetings, I was moved by the testimony of a woman who was protesting issues with the public schools. She finished by warning her listeners to beware of the Marxist takeover underway here. Others spoke of their various degrees of unhappiness over the Council’s decision on the Talbot Boys statue and issues with requiring face masks and vaccines for students. Another statement claimed that our teachers “hate you, they hate your kids and they want to destroy you.”
This extreme, radical Republican rhetoric reflects the fanatical far right wing Trumpism that has infected our country’s politics nationally. Here in Talbot County, the Talbot Boys issue has apparently created a radical reaction for that element of society to move this county away from moderation and progress.
It is no small irony that many Talbot Boys statue supporters argued that it is important to show the good, the bad and the ugly about of our country’s history. Yet now, many of these same individuals are inalterably opposed to teaching “Critical Race Theory” or anything resembling it. It might give white children a sense of guilt, or perhaps cause them to grasp the immense inhumanities of slavery. How ironic! After sanctifying the heroic status of Confederates for years, these folks don’t want young people to be taught about the terrible cruelties inflicted upon black people by some of their not-so heroic ancestors. It might give them a sense of guilt – or perhaps a sense reality – or the truth about slavery.
Of course, the larger irony here is that “Critical Race Theory” is not taught in our Maryland public schools. Diversity is taught and has been for years. But do facts matter to people who still say they believe Trump won the 2020 election? Of course not. They know he lost. They are just maintaining the Big Republican Lie that started on January 17th, 2017, when Sean Spicer walked into the White House Briefing Room and lied through his teeth to the American people about the biggest crowd ever to attend a Presidential Inaugural. The next day, Kellyanne Conway came out and lied through her teeth, explaining that they were presenting “alternate facts”, aka, lies. Trump’s well documented false statements are his methodology for daily feeding his deluded, unquestioning, “bypassed” whites the dog whistles they want to hear about white supremacy. They keep repeating the lies.
This is how Trump Republicans find a way to equate teaching “the good, the bad and the ugly” about slavery to “Marxism”. Lying to excite the base is the essence of the Republican charade. They deny climate change. They deny that the January 6th Insurrection Riot was anything more than a peaceful protest. The ever-vigilant conservative taxation “Tea Party” zealots sat back for four years and watched Trump give away billions in tax benefits to America’s wealthiest 1% while doubling the federal deficit – without a peep of protest.
Republicans have rediscovered the process of institutionalizing lying, which is not a new concept. Ironically, “The bigger the lie, the better” was not a Marxist tool at all. It was Josef Goebbels’ National Socialist scheme to brainwash the German people into blindly and unquestioningly supporting the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler. Today, America’s white supremacists blindly and unquestioningly support Donald Trump – even as they wrap themselves in the American flag as “patriots”. And now, its being perpetrated at the local level to deceive and anger the public with false pretenses.
Does any sensible Talbot County citizen believe our teachers and school administrators hate your kids and want to destroy you? This type of fanatical demagoguery does not belong on our County Council – or in any responsible position of trust or authority.
Bob Jones says
Thank you, Dominic “Mickey” Terrone, for your brave letter. Those parents complaining about teachers should visit classes in the St. Michaels schools and witness the Herculean strength of character and patience exhibited by our teachers in the face of the chaos of rowdy and profane behavior of their own kids: kids who have learned to hate teachers, learning, books, structure, rules, and civility from their tragically ignorant parents who submerged them in the lies, conspiracies, intolerance and Fascism of Republicanism. The kids who are there to learn and socialize productively do so against the odds of today’s toxic school environment. Parents who want to control their kids’ minds, politically, and deprive them of opportunities in later life should take them out of school instead of denying them of the medical and Earth sciences and the history that their own ancestors made.
Jill Poe says
I worked in the Talbot county school system and it is a true shame how much deception excuses in the Board Office. It exists for it’s on benefit not for the students, other employees, or the people who pay taxes; hence their salaries.
Mickey Terrone says
Ms. Poe, it certainly is your right to publicly claim that the School Board/Office is shamefully deceptive and that it exists for its own benefit, i.e., their salaries. However, I don’t believe you. I know several of those people and believe them to be highly dedicated to the growth and development of all those children – white, black, brown and asian – delight in their academic achievements, and rue their setbacks.
My understanding is that teachers and administrators are not nearly as highly paid as other county jurisdictions.
It seems to me if you publicly make negative claims, you should explain the basis of your claim and provide some specific examples of why you maintain your opinions. For example, do you work for free or for a salary? So do they, and they are dealing with children among whom virtually half live below the poverty line and are eligible for supplemental food. This is a true disadvantage in the overall challenge of educating students.
Otherwise, neither I nor anyone else should believe you. Otherwise, sorry to say, your post is abased.
Mickey Terrone
Tyler Willis says
Wow Mickey, you sound like something the Star Demo would jump all over.
Stephen Schaare says
Way too confusing for me.
Carol Voyles says
You’re right. Truth wouldn’t ideally be confusing, but the standards we once took for granted are in a period of transition.
Steve Shimko says
I saw this someplace on the web, but I think it succinctly gets to the heart of the opposition some have to Critical Race Theory (whatever that may be). It’s about Ruby Bridges who was the African American child who integrated William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana in 1960.
“Those who threw rocks at her are now upset (opposed to CRT) that their grandchildren might learn about them throwing rocks at Ruby Bridges for going to school.”
Mickey Terrone says
Steve, let me tell you that you don’t have to go to Louisiana for stories like that. We have numerous local residents who remember integrating the Talbot County schools in our own lifetimes – and how they were spat upon, cursed at and otherwise threatened and intimidated. They cannot erase it from their minds and we should never forget it either.
Mickey
John Fischer says
Obviously, an awful lot of Republican and Independent Virginia voters who rejected Trump in 2020 voted, and carried the day, for the Republican Governor candidate yesterday. That shift occurred in large part due to the candidate’s firm opposition to CRT.
My hope is Democrats such as those commenting here continue to believe only Trump supporters oppose that destructive theory. That will make our work much easier in 2022.
Mickey Terrone says
Virginia Republicans voted for Youngkins knowing full well that he is a Trump disciple originally promoted by Trump and merely distancing himself from Trump’s ugly, horrendous racism to have a chance to win the campaign. I am fully confident that he will cozy back up to Trump and immediately begin to drag Virginia back into the mid-1950’s with a vengeance. Youngkins’ campaign was a classic of deception and hypocrisy. He’ in the past 4 years.ll start rolling back all the progress made by Democrats. Mark my words.
Mickey Terrone
Stephen Schaare says
What on Earth is Trump’s “ugly, horrific racism”?
What are you talking about?
Mickey Terrone says
I’m talking about the “good people” who carried swastikas and confederate flags shouting anti-semitic slogans in Charlottesville. I’m talking about his ugly comments toward Mexicans, muslims and most other non-white immigrants. His public demand to execute the four black teenagers who were accused of a murder in Central Park, NYC was atrociously racist since the charges were dropped. And that’s just for starters.
If you don’t consider these comments horrific, what do you consider them? Accurate?
Stephen Schaare says
The “good people” were those who supported removal and those who opposed. The issue was removal.
You want to start this debate? Sen. KKK Robert Byrd? Sherriff Bull Conner? George Wallace? All devoted Dems. You are on a fool’s errand. Obama , ” my grandmother was a typical white person”? How am I doing? Al Sharpton? This is fun.
I am a caring person, and concerned for your eternal soul. First, forgive yourself for being born white. Second, move to a much more “diverse”community than Lily white Oxford.
Mickey Terrone says
Have you forgotten the comments about those “good people on both sides” who were carrying swastikas and confederate flags in Charlottesville? How about the comments about Mexicans and those “****hole African countries”? What about dismissing black, muslim, asian and hispanic immigrants from this country while welcoming northern Europeans? What about his public calls for the death penalty for the teenagers falsely accused of a murder in Central Park, NYC, before charges were dropped against them? How about his conjuring up hatred against muslims who he claimed he saw celebrating on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River as the World Trade Center fell on 9/11? How’s that for starters?
Mickey Terrone says
Mr. Shaare: The white supremacists at Charlottesville carrying swastikas and confederate flags and shouting anti-Semitic slogans were not good people. They were radical Trump-supporting Republicans. They are deluded people dedicated to abridging the rights of minorities. That is not being a good American. Period.
Senator Byrd renounced his KKK membership as “the greatest mistake I have ever made”. Wallace and Conner were Dixiecrats who switched their spots when Strom Thurmond turned the Southern Democrats against Harry Truman and became Republican.
With regard to forgiving myself for being born white, I feel no personal guilt for our country’s dreadful, inhuman treatment of Native Americans, African -Americans, Asian-Americans, Muslims and any other minorities in America’s history. But I recognize my personal responsibility to help ensure equal opportunity for all Americans now and in the future. I am not afraid of competing with minorities on an even playing field. I don’t fear teaching children about the “good, the bad and the ugly” of our history. They shouldn’t grow up under the fallacies of the Lost Cause. They need to know about the immense crime against humanity that was slavery.
I suppose if parents have been teaching their children about their saintly, heroic confederate ancestors, and the children learn otherwise in school, it might be deflating. But we cannot be afraid to tell our children the truth. Can we? I think not.
And BTW, the fact that I had to remind you of some of Trump’s atrocious racist comments and actions, the fact that you didn’t acknowledge any of them seems to suggest you won’t acknowledge them. Frankly, I’m embarrassed for you if you are living in denial of such overt racism. It suggests you may agree with Trump because you seem to suggest that there were good people who were carrying the swastikas and shouting anti-Semitic slogans. Good people?
No, you are lost in defending the indefensible. So, don’t worry about my eternal soul. You need to be concerned about your own eternal reward or punishment as the case may be. And I’m not moving from Oxford because I know its not where you live; its how you live.
Linda Houchens says
What an outrageously divisive commentary Mr. “Mickey” Terrone! Your hatred of all things conservative and Republican, not to mention Trump, oozes from every sentence. Check your heart and open it to perspectives other than your own very narrow ones.
Mickey Terrone says
Ms. Houchens, don’t you think its outrageously divisive to claim that Talbot County educators “hate you, they hate your kids and they want to destroy you”? You must also think this is a “Marxist takeover”.
You are certainly free to believe those charges made to the County Council. But frankly, I don’t believe statements like that from Republican County Council candidates and their leading supporters can be categorizeed as “conservative”. IMO, it can be categorized as radical, reactionary and willfully false, with the goal of creating a sense of outrage among that segment of society. That, I’d suggest to you, is the essence of divisiveness and hatred. That it is espoused by far right wing Republicans is no surprise.
They are many of the same people who blissfully ignore an attempted coup against the United States, believe absurd and completely unsubstantiated claims of election fraud in our most recent national election and ignore Republican efforts to hand billions in tax breaks to the wealthiest 1% while also trying to take away average citizens’ low cost health insurance. The Republican Party has devolved into a Trump Cult, where members claim they believe his obvious lies and then have the temerity to claim to be patriots. True patriots do not fall for demagoguery. We demand facts and effort from our political leaders – as well as our educators. We don’t demand perfection from them because we don’t demand it of ourselves.
Dodie Theune says
Hooray! This is the most sensible take on all this “Talbot Boys” lunacy.
Stephen W. Fye says
Fortunately, most people do not have the time or the ideological blinders to support the hard line of the Left or the Right.
Kent Robertson says
I believe that I am a pretty standard, run-of-the-mill Conservative. Most of us, I believe, liked Trump’s policies but wished he would quit his fiery rhetoric and constant tweeting. We want secure borders; true equality of opportunity; a balanced, factual education for our kids; a strong military that doesn’t get into wars without clear and present danger to our Country and a realistic goal for success and termination of hostilities; a federal government with limited powers (ie a return to the federation of states as written in our founding documents); a return to civil discourse and finding common ground to establish laws that we all can live with; limited interference in our private and business lives; cessation of the censoring of ideas that don’t fit the prevailing narrative as dictated by the Truth in News Initiative, or any other entity that thinks it has a lock on where the truth is to be found; energy independence; freedom to choose our medical care; I’m sure I could go on for quite a while longer…
I bet that if I could get Mr. Terrone to sit down over a cup of coffee or a beer, and agree to discuss the challenges we face today without accusatory or demeaning rhetoric, that we would find much common ground, and we would probably come to a better understanding of why the other one believes what he does. We might even come away with a new perspective on how things really are.
There are zealots on both sides. They use language on social media that few would use when sitting across the table from one another. We must stop this destructive behavior and learn to speak civilly and listen intently if we are to break this vicious, divisive deadlock we find ourselves in. Please.
Mickey Terrone says
Mr. Robertson: its a good idea to have a conversation over a beer or a cup of coffee. I agree we could probably agree on some things. For starters, maybe its a better idea to have a conversation right here on the Spy, so what we think and write can be reviewed and others can discern what is or isn’t reasonable. This way, nobody can play “he said, he said”.
We can discuss Trump, but my original comments discussed what I consider the incredibly unreasonable local rhetoric by conservative Republicans who claimed a “Marxist” takeover of the school syatem and perhaps the county overall. So, I ask you, are these reasonable claims? Is it unreasonable to reject those claims? With two Republican County Council candidates listening and not questioning those claims, isn’t that a cause for concern to run-of-the-mill conservatives? Do you think Critical Race Theory is being taught in Talbot County schools?
And I’ll ask what specifically that I wrote was unfairly “accusatory or demeaning”? In my original post, I asked: Does any sensible Talbot County citizen believe our teachers and school administrators hate your kids and want to destroy you? This type of fanatical demagoguery does not belong on our County Council – or in any responsible position of trust or authority. Is that an unreasonable question?