Public schools are on the GOP’s hit list, just as they were in Chile during the Pinochet regime, and for the same reasons:
— Fascism flourishes when people are ignorant.
— Private for-profit schools are an efficient way to transfer billions from tax revenues into the coffers of “education entrepreneurs” who then recycle that money into Republican political campaigns (just like they’ve done with private for-profit prisons).
— Private schools are most likely to be segregated by race and class, which appeals to the bigoted base of the Republican party.
— Most public school teachers are unionized, and the GOP hates unions.
— While public school boards are our most basic and vigorous form of democracy, private schools are generally unaccountable to the public.
— Whitewashing America’s racial and genocidal history while ignoring the struggles of women and queer folk further empowers straight white male supremacy.
— Nothing inspires fear and terror in the minds of parents than a threat to their children, and the GOP — being totally committed to enriching the rich and impoverishing everybody else — has nothing else to sell than fear and hate to win elections. (See item #1: fascism.) […]
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