By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas Democrat State Rep. Jason Probst sees the teaching about the differences in the treatment of the races in school as something that has been done for a long time.
"In my opinion, the talk about Critical Race Theory has become the new bogeyman that we're trying to scare people with," Probst said. "Critical Race Theory is really, that specifically, is a high-level college course that's mostly taught to attorneys, so that they can examine whether our systems have internal biases built into them. When I talk about it, I say it's really nothing more than an examination of how people of color are treated in our country, through the systems that we have put up."
Probst argues that American literature has hit on these themes for decades.
"When you read To Kill A Mockingbird, Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer, you're effectively examining Critical Race Theory," Probst said. "Those books had elements in them that talked about the way minorities are treated and have historically been treated in this country, the systems that have been, where people of color weren't thought of when the systems were developed and those books, old movies, what was the famous movie, Look Who's Coming To Dinner, those are all examinations of how the majority interacts with the minority in this country. I think the idea that this is some new, radical thing that's out to undermine the country is really just a lot of political hackery that's trying to get people riled up."
Probst believes continued examination of the issues is warranted.
Self-examination is important," Probst said. "I think, if we have a group of people saying to us, we don't feel like the system has worked for us, then I think it's important to examine that and see if there are changes that can be made that would equalize that or bring people in to the economy, to bring people in to the protection of the Constitution and make sure that we're including as many people as we can into our systems, so that we have the most robust participation that we can."
Probst is now writing on Substack about larger issues, as well as some deeper dives into local policy on occasion.