Millie Spezialy’s commentary Feb. 14 really struck me as a most valuable recap of historical events in America that led up to the current situation regarding racial relations, as well as the emphasis on teaching/learning the truth about critical race theory. It is not at all about “all whites are racist,” although some teachers and “learners” misunderstand it and simply summarize it with a reductionist phrase rather than try to understand the depth of it.
I was just reviewing Dereck Bickerton’s “Language and Human Behavior” for what he had to say about understanding: “With so many layers of interpretation, it’s no wonder we so often misunderstand each other … The problem is not the misunderstanding we have, but the understanding we have missed,” which he posits is in part the cause of so much divisiveness. Sadly, another part of the divisiveness is mud-throwing for political purposes. For those of us who try harder to understand one another — hope you had a happy Valentine’s Day.
— Bernadine Raiskums
Anchorage
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