Editor, Gazette-Journal:
Gov. Youngkin stated in his inaugural speech that “we will remove politics from the classroom.” With his first executive order Youngkin introduces a form of censorship by banning the teaching of what he called “inherently divisive concepts” like Critical Race Theory.
This obvious political move was meant to appease his voters. CRT is not part of the Virginia’s Standards of Learning—a fact that some voters can’t seem to wrap their heads around. The CRT controversy was cooked up by Republicans to rile up their base. And it worked. It’s one of their go-to recipes. A reliable one in fact: fabricate a problem, sprinkle in some racial tension, and voila—voters are enraged.
To reinforce this censorship, Youngkin has established a tip line for parents and students to report educators who present anything in their classrooms that might be considered “divisive,” whatever that means. Sounds like the making of a police state to me.
Leonne ArsenovicWare Neck, Va.
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