It's no wonder

       The white supremacist wing of the Republican party continues its campaign to whitewash American history, at least in states with a GOP trifecta.   Florida and Ron DeSantis have become the poster children of this effort.

       It is understandable that DeSantis and his ilk would go after the teaching of history in the US.   Whites in America have a dismal record on race relations from the very beginning of settlement in North and South America.   Slavery began in 1619 and the genocide of native Americans not too much later.  In the west, aside from wiping out the indigenous population, whites turned their attention to Chinese immigrants with widespread violence from the 1840s through the 1920s  with sporadic outbreaks to the present day.

     Let's not forget the hatred and violence toward white immigrants from Ireland, Italy and eastern Europe.   Now, black and brown migrants looking to a better life for themselves and their families have attracted a fresh wave of hatred.   Especially troubling is the hate on this latest wave of immigrants from their precedents.   People previously scorned as "Micks", "Wops" and "Polacks" are among the most fervent opponents of today's immigrants.

     All in all, it is a sordid history which many white supremacists would like to wipe from our collective memories.   History needs to be taught without fear or favor if we would learn from our continuous failures towards the "other", whether they be white, black, brown, red or yellow.