If you’re interested in learning more about the motte-and-bailey doctrine—and gaining insight into the shady rhetoric of the Eanes School Board and its DEI consultant—here’s a great discussion between James Lindsay and Michael O’Fallon. Highly recommend. And for even more motte-and-bailey discussion, here’s a 2020 podcast by James Lindsay, in which he explains “how the […]
The School Board’s Outrageous Bailey
In this motte-and-bailey graphic, both the motte and the bailey arguments are composed of the actual words and actions of the Eanes School Board. The indefensible bailey: We pledge to promote social justice by recommending racist resources, hiring a DEI consultant trained in Critical Race Theory, inserting equity in every corner of the District, and raising students’ critical […]
Motte-and-Bailey Switcheroo, Illustrated
Here’s an illustrated example of the Eanes School Board motte-and-bailey switcheroo.
Motte-and-Bailey Switcheroo, Eanes School-Board Style
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! […]
The Motte -and- Bailey Doctrine
Are you familiar with the motte-and-bailey doctrine? Let’s take a minute to talk about it since it’s useful for understanding the machinations of the Eanes School Board. It’s a shifty rhetorical maneuver in which someone asserts an extreme, indefensible position (the bailey), but then when questioned about the extreme claim, retreats to a more moderate, […]
Qs for SB: Why Racist Resources?
To: Members of the Eanes School Board From: Concerned Parents Date: August 11, 2021 Re: Why Did You Recommend Racist Resources? ___________________ Until July 2021, the Eanes ISD webpage recommended a resource to parents that states that whiteness is “ideology that reinforces power at the expense of others and strengthens systems of oppression.” Members of the School Board, do […]
Wait, Who’s the Racist?
Let’s be generous and suppose that the members of the Eanes School Board weren’t keeping an eye on the contents of the District’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) webpage. Let’s suppose they didn’t notice the contents of the Eanes Resources page. I know that’s hard to accept because the website is the most public and authoritative source […]
Qs for SB: About Those Resources . . .
To: Members of the Eanes School Board From: Concerned Parents Date: August 9, 2021 Re: Follow-up Questions About the Now-Disappeared Resources List ___________________ For over a year, the members of the School Board and Dr. Gooden, the District’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant, endorsed a list of Resources on the District website. Those recommended resources were saturated with the […]
Check Out This Example from the Recommended Resources
The Eanes recommended Resources list—once so proudly displayed on the Eanes website and now, praise be, disappeared—was filled with woke, racist social-justice sources. Think I’m exaggerating? Then take a look at the first recommended source on the first tab for parents. It exemplifies the toxic message sent by the entire Resources list. The link was entitled Talking About Race, […]
Disappeared and Underbussed
Disappeared: (v) the act of removing and hiding something and then acting like it never existed (e.g., The School Board disappeared its racist list of CRT resources.) Underbussed: (v) the act of metaphorically throwing someone under the bus (e.g., When the members of the School Board were criticized for recommending racist CRT resources, they shifted blame to […]