Pat Robertson Lies About Critical Race Theory, Then Calls It a “Monstrous Evil”

It’s theoretically possible for televangelist Pat Robertson to say he just doesn’t understand “Critical Race Theory.”

But that’s not like him. So instead, on Thursday, he offered a false explanation of it before declaring it a “monstrous evil“:

“What is it?” Robertson said. “That the people of color have been oppressed by the white people, and that white people begin to be racist by the time they’re 2 or 3 months old, and that therefore the people of color have to rise up and overtake their oppressors. And then, having gotten the whip handle — if I can use the term — then to instruct their white neighbors how to behave. Now, that’s critical race theory.”

“This is the way the communists take over; they try to destroy the children,” he added. “It is a monstrous evil. And you hear, ‘Oh, critical race theory, that’s OK.’ No, it’s not. [You don’t] want to have your children in the third grade indoctrinated into a hate group so that he’ll wind up hating people or hating himself. And so the white people are supposed to feel guilty, and they’re supposed to have white guilt, and the people of color are supposed to cleanse them of that guilt by taking over. It is a monstrous evil.”

Nothing he said there was accurate, which suggests his entire understanding of CRT comes from right-wing media instead of people who actually know what they’re talking about. The theory has more to do with understanding how systemic racism persists in our nation and what we can do to counter it — while Robertson (and his ilk) think it promotes racism against white people… somehow. Their misunderstanding isn’t based on facts, but their refusal to come to grips with the reality of racism.

The problem with Robertson’s perpetuation of the conservative lie isn’t that he’s particularly influential, but he’s evidence of how right-wing misinformation spreads quickly among people who have no ability to discern good information from bad. Robertson believes anything you tell him if it fits his narrative. And he has a platform from which to spread those lies to others just like him.

Conservatives: Their favorite pastime is pretending to be persecuted.

(via Right Wing Watch)