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Mort Laitner

Libeling and Slandering the Holocaust

In horror, I read a Texas law which states, “when educators teach widely debated and currently controversial issues of public policy or social affairs, they need to do so from diverse and contending perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective.”

Say what!

So you want to know how I feel about this new law?

I hate it.

Hate it with a capital “H.”

Think about it.

You got some pretty vague terms in this law.

And vagueness in laws can lead to stupidity.

How are these guitar strumming, chili eating, rodeo clowns in the Texas legislature going to define, “widely debated” or “currently controversial” or “diverse and contending perspectives” or “giving deference” or “issues of public policy or social affairs.”

How can Texas teachers determine the parameters of these terms?

Are Texas educators going to write lesson plans on both sides of the Holocaust?

Will cautious Texas educators shy away from the “currently controversial issues” to avoid headaches?

Of course they will.

Who needs headaches.

Has the “Don’t Mess with Texas” motto become the “We’re the Home of Dumb and Dumber.”

Have the lunatics really got control of the asylum?

Will Texas educators have to determine if the Shoah is a “widely debated” issue and give “deference” to opinions of Holocaust deniers?

Has the Lone Star State become the national headquarters for the libelers and slanderers of the Shoah?

Well, y’all Texans:

There ain’t no other side to the Shoah.

It happened, six million Jews were murdered, no debate.

Get over it.

Don’t mess with the Holocaust!

Or is this a debate from the team of “They-Deserved-It-School-of Jewish Bigotry, Hatred and Racism?”

It could be.

It maybe a visceral reaction to requiring that the Shoah be taught in public schools.

But I’m not surprised by this law.

Pissed off, yes.

Surprised, no.

Wasn’t Texas part of the Confederacy?

I bet some of those folks in Austin had relatives who participated in that confederacy of slave-owning dunces.

Weren’t their ancestors the people who gave “deference” to the perspective that:

Slavery has biblical roots and is a holy blessing;

That slaves shouldn’t be taught to read because they’re chattel not people;

That the slaves loved being slaves.

Is that the perspective that they’re pushing their kids to learn about.

Or is it their perspective and opinion that segregation was a good method of making Blacks  feel inferior.

No debate about that.

Blacks were considered three fifths of a person.

Yes, stupidity, bigotry and racism always seems to be reaching, climbing and marching arm-in-arm to the apex of the hills of Texas.

Especially in these weird times.

Ask some of those Texans, “Did the South lose the war between the states?”

“We don’t think so because it ain’t over yet.”

They smirk, and nod and whisper:

The end of the American empire is upon us;

A new civil war is approaching and this time we’re gonna win;

The pendulum always swings in both directions.

Some of this bunch of dumbass, brain-washed cowboys, with their ten-gallon white Stetsons, worn out blue jeans, black pointy-toed leather boots covered in cow shit and their silver long-horn belt buckles have become an anathema to democracy and to the land of the brave and the free.

But they smirk and nod and whisper:

“Remember who we elected President;

The next time, we will rig it by making voting harder;

We shall make it happen again.”

We elected, the king of the non-thinkers.

The man who knows all the questions and none of the answers.

On his shoulders, he will carry us to the promised land.

A promised land that follows these perspectives:

Vaccinations are harmful;

Masks don’t help prevent respiratory diseases;

The Earth is flat;

Jews possess space lasers for the igniting California forest fires;

That drinking bleach prevents Covid;

That lying is okay if it’s for a good purpose;

That if you’re caught in a lie, just say you were joking;

That there are good people on both sides of neo-Nazism;

That the January 6th insurrection never happened;

That the 2020 election was rigged;

That the “Good people who marched on and destroyed the Capitol and murdered a Capitol policemen don’t belong behind bars. They’re heroes;

That there’s a good side to the Shoah.

What a pile of crap.

What a mountain of horse shit.

Are these Texas politicians trying to improve the image of  deniers by making the Holocaust a debatable issue?

If so, they’re doing one hell of a good job.

These mental defectives think they know it all.

Just ask them.

They’re the best at everything since being awarded degrees of attendance on right-wing radio shows, or on Fox or on the world wide web.

With those degrees, they preach that analytical thought has no home in Texas classrooms.

Keep our kids dumb.

Just feed them bullshit.

That will make them great citizens, just like us.

Now Texans, you don’t really want your students to debate the values or morality of Indian eradiation, slavery, segregation, women’s rights, union rights and climate change?

You can’t be that stupid.

But you are stupid enough to drag the USA into a civil war and back into the dark ages by libeling and slandering:

Knowledge, science, facts, morality and the Holocaust.

May G-d help us all.

About the Author
Florida's Jewish short-story writer, speaker, film producer and retired attorney. He has authored, "A Hebraic Obsession", "The Hanukkah Bunny" and "The Greatest Gift." He produced an award-winning short film entitled, "The Stairs". Movie can be viewed online. ChatGPT says, Mort is known for his works that often explore themes of love, loss, and the human connection. Laitner has published several books , including “A Hebraic Obsession.” His writing style is characterized by its emotional depth and introspection. Laitner’s works have garnered praise for their heartfelt expression and keen insight into the human experience. Mort is in his third year as president of the South Florida Writers Association. He was a correspondent for the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel Jewish Journal.
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