Trump Tells Supporters They Must Fight To The Death To Stop Schools From Teaching Kids About Systemic RacismSomething you’ve probably picked up on over the last year and change is that critical race theory is the Republican party’s bogeyman du jour. CRT, for those unaware, is an academic framework based on the notion that racism is not simply about individual prejudice but the prejudice embedded in a country’s institutions and policies, like a justice system that lets a police officer get away with fatally shooting a 12- year-old Black boy for the crime of playing with a toy gun, while a white teen is acquitted of killing two people after claiming self-defense. CRT is not about teaching kids that all white people are bad, but you definitely would not know that from watching Fox News or listening to conservative politicians, who would have people believe that CRT requires teachers to tell their students that white people are to blame for everything that’s ever gone wrong in the history of the universe, and that Joe Biden is about to pass a law that says the government can repossess white people’s houses and garnish 97% of their wages as reparations, or something. Another important fact to know about critical race theory? Elementary, middle, and high school teachers are not actually being forced to incorporate it into their lesson plans — ask an actual teacher, they’ll tell you!Instead, conservatives are using CRT as a tool to fan the flames of yet another culture war and apparently scare voters — some of whom were told over the weekend that CRT is so dangerous they must literally be willing to die to stop it.Yes, in a characteristically unhinged speech, Donald Trump warned his followers: “Getting critical race theory out of our schools is not just a matter of values, it’s also a matter of national survival. We have no choice, the fate of any nation ultimately depends upon the willingness of its citizens to lay down and they must do this, lay down their very lives to defend their country. If we allow the Marxists and Communists and Socialists to teach our children to hate America, there will be no one left to defend our flag or to protect our great country or its freedom. ”Twitter contentThis content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.To state the obvious: CRT proponents are not engaging in violence in order to advocate for it to be implemented in the classroom, so it would appear that Trump is proactively telling his supporters to resort to violence to get it “out of our schools,” and, in the process, be willing to sacrifice their lives. (Anyone who would like to give him the benefit of the doubt here apparently slept through the last six years, or somehow selectively missed the many times he encouraged his followers to do exactly what it sounded like.)Trump’s declaration comes days after the Florida legislature passed a legitimately insane, wildly Orwellian bill that bans schools and private businesses from conducting lessons or trainings that would make white people feel guilty. It also comes against the backdrop of uninformed parents taking over school board meetings to protest the mere idea that systemic racism is real, so it’s not a great time for the former president of the United States to tell those very people they should get violent to save the country from… education.More Great Stories From Vanity Fair– Images of Russia’s Attack on Ukraine—Trump Calls Putin’s Ukraine Moves “Genius” Because He Hates Democracy– The Zucker-Cuomo Saga Just Got Even Messier– Why Biden Wanted Americans to Know Exactly What Putin Was Planning– It’s Been a Hell of a Week for Letitia James– “If Ukraine Matters, Tell Us Why”: Joe Biden Is Talking to Everyone Except the American People– Republicans on Russia Crisis: It’s Biden’s Fault– Thieves in the Night: A Vast Burglary Ring From Chile Has Been Targeting Wealthy US Households– Watergate’s Central Mystery: Why Did Nixon’s Team Order the Break-In in the First Place?– From the Archive: Russia’s Dark Master– Not a subscriber? Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now.