If you’ve ever been the subject of a blog-tirade by either of the Klonsky Brothers or Leo Casey, you understand that these old school reactionaries have made decades-long careers out of pushing bogus propaganda for their cause, i.e. they make shit up and hope that nobody calls them on it.
Fine. That’s what extremists on the edges have done since the dawn of time. And because we’re talking about a couple of wild and crazy guys here, the playful lies and distortions have often come off as comical…cute even. (The Klonsky Brothers are also now on Twitter, which means they can make shit up in 140 characters or less—a level of efficiency that even their guy Trotsky would find amazing…)
Lately, though, it isn’t just the lunatic fringe that is using the make-shit-up playbook. (Editor’s note: Or maybe the institutional players are more a part of the lunatic fringe than we realize? Can someone check on that?)
More and more, the push against meaningful public accountability and equity in public education is coming from seemingly reputable corners where their spokespeople are simply making shit up.
Up in Bean Town, to cite one example, the Boston Teachers Union AFT Massachusetts was involved in setting up a totally-fake (and mildly anti-Semitic if you consider some people’s interpretation of the term ‘shyster’ and the specific folks BTU’s attack dogs are mocking) website and Twitter handle designed to use fictitious posts and tweets to discredit their opponents. Apparently, the BTU doesn’t believe it can win on the merits of their argument, so it resorts to distorting truth and attacking their opponents instead – a tactic as old as time, especially if you are losing. It is sort of like the Onion, only the stakes are a bit higher since in many respects we’re talking about the futures of the next generation of young Americans. What makes it particularly pathetic is that my friend, historian Diane Ravitch, often links to the fake posts as if they are real.
(On that front, Charlie Barone, DFER’s policy director and occasional disc jockey, has noted that Ravitch herself often falls into the make-shit-up-if-it-helps-your-argument camp.)
The notion that opponents of education reform now have to resort to propaganda and manufactured outrage shows you just how far the chains have been moved by reasonable, pragmatic leaders around the country. Fake stuff now trumps reasoned arguments. (I seem to recall a totally fake Michelle Rhee twitter handle, which I guess was a good use of somebody’s time and union dues money as long as the rank-and-file are cool with it.)
Thankfully, we today are watching REAL LEADERS from coast to coast who are willing to stand up and call bull in the face of this manufactured lunacy. (See Philadelphia Mayor Nutter’s breath-of-fresh-air response this week to some bogus ads against him.)
In New York, to cite yet another example, the state teachers union wasn’t happy that Gov. Andrew Cuomo had the audacity to suggest that the public – including the state Government – shouldn’t tolerate schools which persistently fail to educate children. The union’s flacks quickly seized on Cuomo’s descriptive use of the term “Death Penalty” for failing schools. We can only assume they we’re pretending to be outraged on behalf of homicidal maniacs on Death Row or something clever like that.
Thankfully, Cuomo wasn’t distracted by the manufactured outrage at NYSUT headquarters. Yesterday, he stuck to his guns, telling the Buffalo News that he was going to stand with parents, students, teachers, and taxpayers in fighting often-decades-long failure. Amen.
When you have to pretend you are outraged and make believe you are somebody else to make your arguments, it is a pretty good sign that you have lost the franchise. Keep up the great work folks and keep your eyes on the kids who matter in all of this goofiness.