The members of the Eanes School Board may not know the theory behind the motte-and-bailey doctrine, but they’re experts in applied motte-and-bailey doctrine.
Here’s how it unfolds:
Eanes School Board, implementing the bailey: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion! Upload a resource page endorsing the racist assertion that whiteness is an ideology of oppression and the racist ideas of Ibram Kendi! Hire a DEI consultant trained in Critical Race Theory! Equity teams, racial equity leadership training, equity-focused leadership, equity-focused restorative justice! Equity and robotics! Equity, equity, equity! Do the work! Raise your critical consciousness! Social justice now!
Pushback from Eanes Parents: Please stop implementing applied Critical Race Theory.
Eanes School Board, shifting to the motte: What?!? Us?!? No way, we’re not implementing applied Critical Race Theory. We just want to improve school climate by creating an environment where all of our students feel accepted and welcome. It’s totally kumbaya.
Thank you, Eanes School Board, for that perfect illustration of the motte-and-bailey switcheroo.
But there’s one more step in the expert-level execution of the motte-and-bailey switcheroo: turning around and attacking the parents who are pushing back against bad policy. If you disagree with the School Board, they will say it is because of bad motives (racism!). How could you possibly not want to improve school climate??? How could you not want to make all students feel accepted and welcome???
To be crystal clear: Nobody is arguing with the motte. We ALL want to improve school climate by creating an environment where all of our students feel accepted and welcome. Always. But we take issue with the bailey. So when you act like we’re a bunch of racist troglodytes simply because we don’t agree with your implementing the bailey, that mistake is on you. We do not accept your shady motte-and-bailey switcheroo.