QAnon devotee and Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has finally weighed in on racism. The internet was not impressed.
The conspiracy theory-obsessed Congresswoman recently took to Twitter to give her two cents on a popular children's book about race.
In her tweet, Greene managed to mischaracterize the book's thesis, miss the point of her own visual aids and give a shout-out to the manufactured conservative moral panic du jour about Critical Race Theory all in one go.
Babies are not racist. \nBabies are not born racist.\nThe Critical Race Theory is racist.pic.twitter.com/vIoUzRzyyR— Marjorie Taylor Greene \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Marjorie Taylor Greene \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1622547084
Antiracist Baby—written by professor, scholar and writer Ibram X. Kendi—is a children's book that explains race issues to children. Kendi is the author of several celebrated books on race, most notably How To Be An Anti-Racist.
In her tweet, Taylor Greene shared screenshots from Antiracist Baby, one of which reads, "Antiracist baby is bred, not born," meaning that anti-racist principles must be taught to children in order for them to be put into practice throughout life.
To Taylor Greene, however, the line has a far more insidious meaning—babies are born racist.
Her tweet read:
"Babies are not racist."
"Babies are not born racist."
The book, of course, suggests no such thing.
And by attempting to criticize Kendi's book, Greene essentially regurgitated one of its central points—racism is a learned, not innate, behavior and hence its antidote, anti-racism, must also be learned.
Greene then went on to decry as racist the concept of Critical Race Theory, a movement among activists and scholars which asserts American racism is a social construct with systemic impacts upheld and enforced by legal systems.
The theory has been around for more than 30 years, but it has only recently become the subject of pearl-clutching by Republicans, who claim the theory states all White people are racist and should never be examined because it might make White people feel bad.
All in all, the internet wasn't impressed with Greene's racism tutorial.
Racism is taught.\nWhere did you learn yours?— George T. Berish (@George T. Berish) 1622551724
Right. \nRight.\nWrong.— Bratman (@Bratman) 1622551707
Obviously didn't read the book— Justin (@Justin) 1622549558
That\u2019s why I\u2019m worried about your kids— yogi Martinez (@yogi Martinez) 1622551987
Marjorie's remarks, said another way:\n\n"When I was born, I wasn't racist."— Frank Amari (@Frank Amari) 1622549991
#RacistSaysWhat ?— Brian Hill (@Brian Hill) 1622552340
Racism is taught at home, you should know that— G (@G) 1622549018
"Babies are not born racist." Correct! They are carefully taught to be racist in our schools and churches, by our police and by their local, state and federal politicians. Racism is SYSTEMIC in American society and MUST BE ELIMINATED. Teaching Critical Race Theory is one step.— Will Chill (@Will Chill) 1622552353
And... Here is a woman who doesn\u2019t understand CRT in the slightest.— A. Foyle Hatt \ud83c\udfa9 (@A. Foyle Hatt \ud83c\udfa9) 1622552169
For those of us playing along at home, could you define CRT in a sentence or two?— Steven A. KinCannon (@Steven A. KinCannon) 1622547724
Did you read that book ? Can you read ? Did you catch the rhymes in that book ? Did you understand it ?— Sunny (@Sunny) 1622547653
Greene has drawn wide criticism for several bigoted comments in her brief congressional tenure, most recently for comparing vaccination requirements to the Holocaust.
Her latest hot take isn't faring any better.
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