This is how you fight the book banners
They may have the guns. But we've got Pete Dominick.
@pete.dominick Here are my comments at our last school board meeting where a few bad faith actors have tried to create a controversy in our schools with no regard to the students safety or best interest. We have a generally welcoming student body when it comes to LGBT issues. I would dare to say the kids are all right - it’s the parents who are the problem. John Lewis asked us to make good trouble. And Dr. King told us not to be silent. #LGBT #transgender #trans #BOE #humanrights #schoolboardmeetings #transrights #boardofeducation #turningpointusa #momsforliberty
♬ original sound - Pete Dominick
If you know Pete Dominick for his stand-up comedy or for his fantastic podcast Stand Up, you know the only thing he's better at than talking is being a dad.
This week Pete posted the above video of a comment he gave at a recent meeting of his local school boys that is delighting the hell out of anyone who sees it. I wanted to share it for that reason alone. But it's far more useful than that.
Please share this with any parent or kids who is dealing with freaky right wingers – who usually don't have any kids in the actual schools they're annoying – targeting LGBT kids, parents, teachers, and everyone who loves all these people in systematic effort to win political power at the local level. Let it inspire them.
It's a master class. Of course, Pete has perfected his delivery with the billion hours he’s spent on the stage and with a mic, as Malcolm Gladwell intended. But it's also great because he explains why these fools are purposefully dividing the community.
And when he presents their argument, he always uses a "truth sandwich" to make sure Team MAGA doesn't get to frame the conversion in the way the kinky swingers at the top (and bottom) of Moms for Liberty have taught these middle-aged bullies to.
"Every year at this time a new fake controversy is posted by the same exact people on Facebook," he said. "They bring them to the microphone in order to divide the community in preparation for a school board election."
He went on to explain that you can "expect the same playbook from the same hacks and cowards, every year. Set your clock to it."
And he summarized their game plan masterfully:
- Manufacture a controversy in our school district.
"Just make up, mislead. Savage the reputations of good teachers." - Make the victims the aggressors.
"Somehow convince the community that the most vulnerable kids are rampaging of the rest of our kids' safety and security. Last year it was Black kids attacking white kids because they supported Trump. They screamed it right here. Not remotely true. This year the big bad scary gay and trans kids are attacking the straight kids in locker rooms. Also, not a thing. Next year maybe they'll target kids with physical disabilities and spread fear that they're going to attack the strong athletes."
George Lakoff might tell you that negative framing backfires. So "Don't try this at your school board" really sends the message "TRY THIS AT YOUR SCHOOL BOARD!" And you should. And you should if you're up to it.
Not as easy as it looks. I know.
But seeing how it's done makes it much more possible.
But not all of us can burn with passionate intensity of one of America's top DILFs. So you can just support Run for Something. Their candidates keep beating the chaps off Moms for Liberty, which is as fun to watch as it sounds.
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