You're saying you doesn't wanna do his chores because that's racist?
>> He's using it as an excuse because they've told him that that's how people
see him as a black man, that the world is against and shows it as a negative now.
>> That was Vanessa Riley, she's a Virginia mother who is currently
suing her son's middle school because she believes that they're
anti racism curriculum has actually had an effect on him that's been negative.
Now let me be clear, she appears to be a white woman,
she is white and native American, she says her previous partner,
the one she had a a son with is a black man.
So she has a biracial son, she's now a single mother, and
she feels that the curriculum that the school is teaching has actually
ended up disempowering her son.
And I'm careful with how I'm presenting this story because I actually,
I don't think she did herself any favors by going on just Jesse waters show,
to be honest with you.
If you read the details about her concerns, I think this story is far more
nuanced and I do not wanna just brush her off is a crazy,
rabid racist who doesn't want her kids to learn about American history.
It's different from that, she's worried that her son went from,
not really feeling different from his classmates, you know, feeling accepted,
not really feeling like his biracial status was in any way a problem.
To now feeling singled out within his classroom, and
also feeling like since he is biracial and appears to be a person of color.
I mean of course because a father is black, that he is now accepted and
it's now ingrained in him that he's at a significant disadvantage.
And it's kind of giving him like this defeatist attitude I guess when it comes
to everything around him.
So, I think that's an interesting concern and
she doesn't really strike me as a racist person to be honest, but
what do you think Jake after thinking about the details?
>> It's so mixed because the initial story is clown a rama, right?
So, I mean, there's a lot of what she says that I flat out don't believe she says
that, you know, he's making excuses all around the I mean,
what does racism have to do with your chores?
There's in the house, it's just you and your mom, so who's the racist one?
It doesn't make any sense, right?
So I'd be super curious to hear her son's perspective on this,
my guess is it is very, very different.
And in one part of the clip, she said now that he's in the school and
he's hearing these things, he's got strength in numbers.
>> What?
>> Yeah, well what that's saying to me is other people are now telling him something
different than what you told him, which is that yeah, racism is real,
it does actually exist.
And so she's saying, well now a lot of people are confirming things that
are true, and I don't like that.
He's got other people supporting him on that philosophy,
that's the strength in numbers.
Well, I like that because he's getting a different point of view which has a lot of
legitimacy.
But, the the nuance comes in here, I'm quoting the New York post now so
take it with a great assault.
But they say the teachers were trained to identify white privilege and
they have that in quotes and to understand that the idea of meritocracy is a myth.
So that's where you have to do a lot of parenting, right?
There is a lot of truth of the meritocracy being a myth of all rich people deserved
it and all poor middle class people deserve being poor and middle class.
And so there that is a little bit, a lot of mythology,
but it doesn't mean you can't make it.
And as a parent,
it's your job to inspire your kids to get beyond that and to make it.
So you've got to interact with the school and give your own lessons as well.
So that part I don't mind, but to dismiss the entire curriculum and
to say you shouldn't teach racism and
racism being institutional is just not true, they should teach facts in school.
>> She strikes me as a mom who really wants to shelter her son and
like protect him from realities in America that are actually
terrible realities for people of color, right?
But you can't shelter him forever, these are realities and sooner or
later he is gonna learn about it if he hadn't already by the way.
And look unfortunately she is also, she's been convinced because of
the right wing that critical race theory is being taught to like all students,
from the moment they enter kindergarten, which is also not the case.
In fact she has moved forward with this lawsuit and a judge has already thrown it
out saying that there's been no evidence provided indicating that there's anything
like inflammatory being taught to the students through this curriculum.
And I would venture to say that the judges right on that, but the mom,
I don't know it's a little different, a little more nuanced and
I think she has to do more parenting to kind of counter whatever she thinks is
harmful about learning about the realities of America