Let me tell you about the latest conservative meltdown.
Republicans are desperately attempting to rewrite the narrative of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Thankfully, Virginia is not letting that narrative permeate public classrooms.
According to a report published Friday by The Washington Post, Virginia is about to drop a reality bomb on the MAGA crowd.
The report notes that the Virginia state governor will likely sign a measure that was passed by the state House of Delegates and Senate.
This fabulous new rule bars any public schools from teaching that the attack was a “peaceful” protest.
Because obviously, breaking windows and hunting for politicians is not exactly a relaxing yoga retreat.
President Donald Trump has long maintained that the violence was peaceful.
Other Republicans have hilariously referred to it as nothing more than a “tourist visit.”
I guess the rest of us just forgot to buy our souvenir riot gear at the gift shop.
Delegate Dan Helmer (D) shed some light on the sheer delusion happening in conservative circles.
He said one lawmaker complained that the White House webpage calls January 6 “a peaceful protest, and people who instigated it were the police and National Guard,”
Can you even imagine the mental gymnastics required to believe that?
Helmer made the goal of the new bill incredibly clear.
He added, “This is a preventative measure against a massive disinformation campaign on the part of the White House,”
Now the right wing is throwing a massive, collective tantrum.
The Washington Post report said Republicans are calling it “mind control,”
Yes, because teaching actual, documented history is basically telepathy to these guys.
Del. Tom Garrett (R) took to the floor to cry about it in a speech.
He complained, “It tells us what we’re not allowed to say, and it tells us what we must say,”
Garrett then went on to say that the bill was “evil” and akin to “Nazi Germany” and “Soviet Russia.”
Nothing says “measured political discourse” quite like comparing a basic history curriculum to horrific global dictatorships.
Let us not forget the absolute irony of Republican outrage over school curriculums.
Back in 2022, Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed new teaching requirements.
Those requirements were for those discussing the history of the U.S. around slavery and the Native Americans.
So, regulating education is totally fine when conservatives do it to bury the messy parts of our past.
Meanwhile, other countries actually know how to handle historical truths.
Laws in Germany today bar expressions of Holocaust denialism in public.
Here in America, we are stuck dealing with a leader who actively rewards the people who tried to subvert democracy.
Trump pardoned 1,500 people charged with crimes related to Jan. 6.
He did this even if they accepted their guilt.
