MSNBC host of The 11th Hour Stephanie Ruhle wondered if conservative attempts to “ban books” was the reason the FBI recently reported a raise in hate crimes. Instead of simply answering no, that’s ridiculous, former assistant director for counter intelligence Frank Figliuzzi says it is too soon to tell, but they certainly don’t help.
Ruhle asked, “Frank, is it too soon to draw any connection between hate crimes that are targeting race, sexual orientation, or gender identity, and attempts to ban books on these very topics? Because proponents of banning books often say, “oh, we're just doing it to keep people safe.” But that's happening, while you are seeing a rise in hate crimes in these specific areas.”
There was no attempt to explain what is in these books or justify the presence of sexually explicit material in school libraries or curriculum, simply that conservatives are bad and Republican politicians are bad for going along.
Figliuzzi responded by trying to have it both ways. One hand, he acknowledged the answer to Ruhle’s question is no, “So, let's put this in perspective for current time and then the near-term future. This report, released today for hate crimes is 2021 data, it tells us what happened in 2021. It may be too early right now to say, okay, that's linked to banning books that teach against racism, or the role of race in our society.”
However, Figliuzzi clearly wanted the answer to be otherwise, “But I have to tell you, a part, a large part of getting over this challenge we're facing is education and erasing ignorance. And if you can't teach race in schools and its role in society, and have people think like the other, and see life through someone else’s eyes, we’ll never get to the solution. That's my concern moving forward”
Nobody is against teaching racism. What they are against is teaching that this is a systemically racist country that was founded on racism and that white people, by definition, are guilty of white supremacy for benefiting from such allegedly racist institutions.
Such beliefs are naturally unpopular with voters, so Ruhle and Figliuzzi have to burn straw men to scare people into voting for Democrats.
This segment was sponsored by Fidelity.
Here is a transcript for the December 12 show:
MSNBC The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle
12/12/2022
11:29 PM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: Frank, is it too soon to draw any connection between hate crimes that are targeting race, sexual orientation, or gender identity, and attempts to ban books on these very topics? Because proponents of banning books often say, “oh, we're just doing it to keep people safe.” But that's happening, while you are seeing a rise in hate crimes in these specific areas.
FRANK FIGLIUZZI: So, let's put this in perspective for current time and then the near-term future. This report, released today for hate crimes is 2021 data, it tells us what happened in 2021. It may be too early right now to say, okay, that's linked to banning books that teach against racism, or the role of race in our society. But I have to tell you, a part, a large part of getting over this challenge we're facing is education and erasing ignorance. And if you can't teach race in schools and its role in society, and have people think like the other, and see life through someone else’s eyes, we’ll never get to the solution. That's my concern moving forward.
