Florida civics training links "cancel culture" to mass murder ~~ Judd Legum

 https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=1664&post_id=145075885&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=rovhk&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo0NjUxMDE4NCwicG9zdF9pZCI6MTQ1MDc1ODg1LCJpYXQiOjE3MTY5Nzg5MzksImV4cCI6MTcxOTU3MDkzOSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTE2NjQiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.zaS0ueHDSKBViSetW0QhnOpq7xR9lyXrVs9-d430Kqw

~~ recommended by newestbeginning ~~

The Florida Department of Education's civics training does not just train educators to teach Christian nationalism. The same program also includes a section on Communism's legacy. This has been a priority of Governor Ron DeSantis (R). In April, DeSantis signed legislation requiring all Florida students to be taught "the dangers and evils of Communism."

“We will not allow our students to live in ignorance, nor be indoctrinated by Communist apologists in schools," DeSantis said. "To the contrary, we will ensure students in Florida are taught the truth about the evils and dangers of Communism.”

Popular Information obtained the slides presented at the training from the Florida Freedom to Read Project, which received them from the Florida Department of Education after filing a public records request. 

The presentation includes factual information about mass murders ordered by the totalitarian leaders of communist and socialist governments. Stalin's "Great Terror," for example, involved the execution of an estimated 750,000 people who were seen as political dissidents. The training calls these systematic killings "the original cancel culture."

The Florida Department of Education training links the mass murder of perceived dissidents with criticism of Peterson. In 2022, The College of Psychologists of Ontario ordered Canadian psychologist and right-wing provocateur Jordan Peterson to receive coaching on "professionalism in public statements" after the licensing body found he made several "degrading, demeaning, and unprofessional comments." Peterson posted offensive tweets about trans actor Elliot Page about Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Yumi Nu.

The training includes this slide: 

One can argue about whether or not a professional board requiring such coaching is appropriate. But it is not an outgrowth of "Marxist-communist" mass murder. (Jordan sued to try to avoid receiving the coach, but his case was dismissed by Canadian courts.)

The next slide in the presentation on Communism lumps together criticism of former University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) professor Mike Adams for posting racist tweets with a show trial against academics in Stalin's Soviet Union. In May 2020, Adams posted offensive tweets related to the pandemic lockdown. 

A few weeks later, Adams agreed to retire from UNCW, securing a $504,702 settlement from the university. In July 2020, Adams died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The slide suggests that Adams died because he would not admit his “guilt”:

The implication is that people who criticized Adams' racist tweet are engaging in Stalinistic tactics and are responsible for Adams' suicide. While Adams' death is tragic, his circumstances were not equivalent to the Industrial Party show trial, in which several academics in Stalin's Russia were sentenced to death after being convicted of plotting a coup. 

Today’s newsletter is part of our ongoing coverage of the radical transformation of public schools in Florida.

The DeSantis administration has attacked our reporting. Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz called Popular Information "fake news" and claimed we were "too lazy" to understand Florida's education policy.

We are not intimidated by this kind of bullying. We are being attacked because we are telling the truth.