The media appears to have a playbook that is followed on the national and local levels when it comes to political coverage.

Step 1: Embrace absurd political position
Step 2: Promote those holding the absurd political position
Step 3: Realize absurd political position is absurd
Step 4: Pretend those criticizing absurd political position are making it up

They did it with cancel culture.

Cancel culture was fine, but then it became consequence culture. Now, some progressives fear it is becoming too powerful and people hate it.

They did it with defunding the police.

It was chanting at rallies, they created a hashtag, members of Congress promoted it, cities did it, crime rates spiked, and now you would think no one actually meant for it to happen.

They did it with Antifa.

We were mocked for having a problem with a group that has “anti-fascists” as the base of its name.

Let's not forget pic.twitter.com/q5wjVmZylR

— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) August 16, 2017

We were told they were a force for good, and now we are told that “Antifa” is just a made-up thing with no real leadership structure and no charter of incorporation, so they don’t exist.

https://twitter.com/BrandyZadrozny/status/1403392075819847681

Now, critical race theory is just a boogeyman created by conservatives to scare people into voting for them.

As usual, al(dot)com’s Kyle Whitmire is entering the fray a bit too late with a silly take that amounts to: “Golly, what is this whole critical race theory stuff?”

So, Whitmire, fresh of his award for liberal opinions from some random Texas magazine you have never heard of, decided to call State Representative Chris Pringle (R-Mobile) and ask him what his bill does.

So Pringle told him, per al(dot)com:

“It’s pretty simple,” Pringle said. “All it says is you can’t teach critical race theory in K-12 or higher education in the state of Alabama.”

Still confused, Whitmire demanded some magic words, and Pringle attempted to placate him.

Whitmire relays their conversation and leaves in the uhs and ums to make Pringle look bad and frames it as if Pringle is taking on something he doesn’t understand.

This is Pringle’s fault because he took the call and legitimized Whitmire. Whitmire should be marginalized and mocked rather than listened to.

Instead, Pringle gets destroyed.

Whitmire wrote, “When I couldn’t get an answer from a middle-aged white man, I took the logical next step. I asked a middle-aged Black man, Alabama Democratic Party chairman and state Rep. Chris England.”

State Representative England (D-Tuscaloosa) explained that critical race theory is, in fact, a thing.

“Critical race theory has been around since the ’70s and it’s never been taught in K-12,” England said. “It’s post-secondary education theory that is only discussed in masters level classes.”

England is treated far better by Whitmire, which is his choice, but Whitmire learns that this is a thing after all, and England says it isn’t taught in K-12 — as if that makes Pringle’s bill irrelevant. We know it is moving this way, and advocates make that clear. But the narrative is in place, and they all have to play the game.

Alabama Republicans need to stop engaging this liberal opinion writer. If a “journalist” insists he doesn’t understand the topic, believe him. Maybe have him call you back when he figures it out.

So here you go, Kyle Whitmire. Let’s take a look at critical race theory:

Critical race theory (CRT), intellectual movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour. Critical race theorists hold that the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African Americans.

Allow me to summarize: America is racist to its core. It was, is and will always be racist.

This should never be taught in American schools to children of any race. Parents and their politicians have every right to speak out about it, just like parents have a right to speak out on any other subject or theory taught in public schools.

The fact that there is an entire media narrative being built that agrees with critical race theory and pretends it doesn’t exist at the same time is pretty telling and damning of the education and journalism industries.

If you really can’t understand what it is, and Whitmire just can’t figure it out, maybe you should sit the conversation out.

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 AM weekdays on WVNN and on Talk 99.5 from 10AM to noon.