The "White People Are Mosquitoes" Video in FCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the article, the video was shown to high school students. I think it's a great way to explain how the cumulative effect of certain well-intentioned comments based on our assumptions about certain groups can harm others. I don't know that it would be helpful for younger students, though.

I guess. IMO, it would be better to teach kids to ignore/shake off/re-interpret unhelpful comments from others rather than kill the mosquito. The ones who are most hurt by micro-aggressions are the ones who are most hurt by them, not the ones who most receive them.

It would be better to teach people not to care about being treated poorly rather than teaching people not to treat others poorly? Will you tell your daughter the same thing when it comes to boyfriends? Just ignore it? Dunno about you, but I'm teaching my son to recognize when he is being hurtful so he can grow up to be the man he wants to be.

This video is not designed to teach people how to interact without being hurtful. Did you watch it? It's value is in teaching intolerance, in recognizing micro-aggressions from others and not tolerating them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This. Tell a group that they are the problem enough and they will react, just not in the way that you hope

The irony of this statement is breathtaking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a link to the "white people are mosquitoes" video that was shown to FCPS students in the attached article: https://thefederalist.com/2023/02/06/public-schools-are-avoiding-crt-ban-with-trojan-horse-of-social-emotional-learning/

I found the video patronizing and threatening, especially with the suggestion that minorities reasonably could engage in violence against white people who engage in "microaggressions." Mind you, I have no problem with teaching kids to be kind to one another, or to think about how their words, even if not ill-intentioned, might hurt other students. But this video is crass and heavy-handed, to put it mildly, and shit like this only proliferates because the likes of Dr. Reid and the current School Board think it's a good way to demonstrate their commitment to "equity."

I don't know if Lunquist-Arora plans to run for School Board or not (I wish she would), but the current School Board has done nothing but aggravate tensions within FCPS and preside over the school system's continued decline. They need to be sent packing this fall.

There is nothing wrong with this video. It is not saying "white people are mosquitoes." In fact, it is showing white people on the receiving end of the "bites." The point of the video is to illustrate how a small, seemingly innocuous (though profoundly insulting to the recipient) statements can be hurtful, singly or over time. This is the same as statements like "pecked to death by a duck" or "death by a thousand cuts."

There is not anything remotely racist towards white people in this video. And if that is what you took away from it, I question your motives, biases, and frankly, your intelligence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Videos like this are why we end up with so many young people now turning into arch-conservatives. They are rebelling against an establishment that pushes this SEL nonsense.

This. Tell a group that they are the problem enough and they will react, just not in the way that you hope

Did you WATCH the video? Because it is not saying "white people" are doing this. It shows white people, women, gay people, also as recipients.

[Anonymous]

I generally am sick of all the SEL and equity BS going on in public schools. BUT I see nothing wrong with the video. In fact, I really like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I watched the video. I think it actually tries to explain micro aggressions in a clever way. And yes at the end, the POC seem very annoyed by the micro-aggressions and hit the mosquitoes. Is that what you mean by saying the video implies minorities could engage in violence against white people? Because that is not what I got at all from this video. You know what is scary OP? How some conservatives are completely overreacting to CRT and the like. See Florida. I agree that we should focus on academics more than anything. But this fear mongering is scary. And the Federalist is biased AF OP. They are right wing and very much pro-school choice/not fond of public schools. But I am guessing you are already knew that, no?

There was also a flamethrower.

As a metaphor, you fool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the article, the video was shown to high school students. I think it's a great way to explain how the cumulative effect of certain well-intentioned comments based on our assumptions about certain groups can harm others. I don't know that it would be helpful for younger students, though.

I guess. IMO, it would be better to teach kids to ignore/shake off/re-interpret unhelpful comments from others rather than kill the mosquito. The ones who are most hurt by micro-aggressions are the ones who are most hurt by them, not the ones who most receive them.

In that case, if you don’t like the video, I guess you can just ignore/shake off/ reinterpret it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was saddened the other day when my white ES kid came home from school and I asked "what did you learn today.?" And the kid said glumly "same thing as everyday. White people are bad."

My kid is in 10th grade. White. Has never heard those lessons. They're probably listening to you and your whining, honestly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was saddened the other day when my white ES kid came home from school and I asked "what did you learn today.?" And the kid said glumly "same thing as everyday. White people are bad."

I call BS on this. If that happened I'd march my liberal white @ss right over to the school and heads would roll. Again, METAPHORICALLY. I wouldn't actually chop off heads.

?It was a child's perception. I don't know exactly what led them to say that, but I'm not the type to "march right over there" and make "heads roll."

Uh huh. I double dog dare you to get your perceptive ES child to come on here and provide three to five examples of how s/he is learning "white people are bad" every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I watched the video. I think it actually tries to explain micro aggressions in a clever way. And yes at the end, the POC seem very annoyed by the micro-aggressions and hit the mosquitoes. Is that what you mean by saying the video implies minorities could engage in violence against white people? Because that is not what I got at all from this video. You know what is scary OP? How some conservatives are completely overreacting to CRT and the like. See Florida. I agree that we should focus on academics more than anything. But this fear mongering is scary. And the Federalist is biased AF OP. They are right wing and very much pro-school choice/not fond of public schools. But I am guessing you are already knew that, no?

There was also a flamethrower.

As a metaphor, you fool.

It's not a great metaphor either. The solution to micro-aggression is aggression? Verbal, presumably, rather than actual flame. But yelling at someone won't make you feel better. Or make anything better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was saddened the other day when my white ES kid came home from school and I asked "what did you learn today.?" And the kid said glumly "same thing as everyday. White people are bad."

I call BS on this. If that happened I'd march my liberal white @ss right over to the school and heads would roll. Again, METAPHORICALLY. I wouldn't actually chop off heads.

?It was a child's perception. I don't know exactly what led them to say that, but I'm not the type to "march right over there" and make "heads roll."

Uh huh. I double dog dare you to get your perceptive ES child to come on here and provide three to five examples of how s/he is learning "white people are bad" every day.

NP. My ES kids have learned that for years. They don't put it that way, but they have learned about how terrible the colonists were and then how bad the early Americans were. Many times in many different lessons in most ES grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was saddened the other day when my white ES kid came home from school and I asked "what did you learn today.?" And the kid said glumly "same thing as everyday. White people are bad."

I call BS on this. If that happened I'd march my liberal white @ss right over to the school and heads would roll. Again, METAPHORICALLY. I wouldn't actually chop off heads.

?It was a child's perception. I don't know exactly what led them to say that, but I'm not the type to "march right over there" and make "heads roll."

Sure you do. They are internalizing your made up angst over reverse racism. You talk about it at home. You know you do. Your post makes that plain how pissed off you are about it. So they hear that. And are projecting your issues onto what they are hearing. There is NO POSSIBLE SCENARIO where they heard "white people are bad." None.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was saddened the other day when my white ES kid came home from school and I asked "what did you learn today.?" And the kid said glumly "same thing as everyday. White people are bad."

I call BS on this. If that happened I'd march my liberal white @ss right over to the school and heads would roll. Again, METAPHORICALLY. I wouldn't actually chop off heads.

?It was a child's perception. I don't know exactly what led them to say that, but I'm not the type to "march right over there" and make "heads roll."

Sure you do. They are internalizing your made up angst over reverse racism. You talk about it at home. You know you do. Your post makes that plain how pissed off you are about it. So they hear that. And are projecting your issues onto what they are hearing. There is NO POSSIBLE SCENARIO where they heard "white people are bad." None.

ok, so you don't believe me, fine. But my kid did say that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I watched the video. I think it actually tries to explain micro aggressions in a clever way. And yes at the end, the POC seem very annoyed by the micro-aggressions and hit the mosquitoes. Is that what you mean by saying the video implies minorities could engage in violence against white people? Because that is not what I got at all from this video. You know what is scary OP? How some conservatives are completely overreacting to CRT and the like. See Florida. I agree that we should focus on academics more than anything. But this fear mongering is scary. And the Federalist is biased AF OP. They are right wing and very much pro-school choice/not fond of public schools. But I am guessing you are already knew that, no?

There was also a flamethrower.

As a metaphor, you fool.

It's not a great metaphor either. The solution to micro-aggression is aggression? Verbal, presumably, rather than actual flame. But yelling at someone won't make you feel better. Or make anything better.

It's a perfect metaphor. When that one micro-aggression causes someone to be more pissed than you think they should be and then get labeled as "angry", "sensitive", "snowflake." It has nothing to do with making anyone feel better. So your point makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was saddened the other day when my white ES kid came home from school and I asked "what did you learn today.?" And the kid said glumly "same thing as everyday. White people are bad."

I call BS on this. If that happened I'd march my liberal white @ss right over to the school and heads would roll. Again, METAPHORICALLY. I wouldn't actually chop off heads.

?It was a child's perception. I don't know exactly what led them to say that, but I'm not the type to "march right over there" and make "heads roll."

Uh huh. I double dog dare you to get your perceptive ES child to come on here and provide three to five examples of how s/he is learning "white people are bad" every day.

I think that's unreasonable. I guess I shouldn't have mentioned it. I did feel badly for my kid, and no they did not learn any of that type thinking at home.