UNDERSTANDING CRITICAL RACE THEORY (CRT)

 

 

Robin DiAngelo is a popular advocate for CRT and has written:

 

·       “The dominant group is the group that is valued more highly. Dominant groups set the norms by which the minoritized group is judged.”

 

CRT targets the dominant culture as the “oppressor.” While this might sometimes be true, CRT now dominates the universities, mainstream media, and Big Tech. It has the power and influence to eliminate and cancel any who disagree.

 

Under the influence of CRT, our feelings and desires have taken the place of truth. “Oppression” is no longer the violation of what is good and just. Instead, it is a matter of “oppressive norms” and “values,” irrespective of whether they are just or unjust. Instead of criticizing them based upon whether they are true, these norms are rejected because they allegedly come from the “dominant” group’s power and their alleged desire to control others by their influence.

 

Consequently, the “oppressor” group is not being judged for stealing, kidnapping, or murdering but for upholding certain ideas and norms upon which their collective society rests. However, the Bible is filled with such judgements, which did not originate with the “ruling class”:

 

·       “You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:13-16)

 

Should these ideas or norms be condemned because others feel oppressed by them? No! Instead, they should be rejected if they are not right, just, and do not contribute to our ultimate welfare.

 

However, attention to right and wrong, just and unjust, has been rejected in favor of criticizing the alleged motives of the “dominant class.”

 

However, if we are to criticize motives, let’s also criticize the motives of CRT. Many motives have been suggested - hatred, jealousy, the desire to destroy and to replace the present system with a more inhumane, racist, and repressive system.

 

Of course, such charges might be true, but we cannot look into the heart and judge others based upon their alleged motivations. Therefore, Western legal systems judge, before all else, based upon criminal behaviors, irrespective of class, color, family heritage, or wealth:

 

·       “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.” (Deuteronomy 24:16)

 

However CRT advocates consider feelings, power, alleged motivations of the “ruling class,”and “microagressions” above considerations of justice, truth, and human thriving. They favor some groups over others based upon their determination that a group is “oppressed.” However, the administration of justice must be based on our equality before the law:

 

·       “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.” (Exodus 23:1-3)

 

Both rich and poor, black and white, must stand as equals before the law. Without these truths, a society can only be held together by brutal coercion, the inevitable consequence of all Marxist nations.