SPEECH OF THE YEAR CONTENDER
Calling Out the Lies of the Radical Left
Transcription:
Drew DePatie Addressing the North Reading School Committee, May 16, 2022
FROM OUR PRINTED JUNE 2022 EDITION:
I want to thank Dr. Daly for inviting me to the DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) forum last week. I was able to see firsthand just how radical the school district has become.
From the very beginning, the DEI program was born out of radicalism. As a response to the George Floyd death in 2020, a small group of 100 radical activists, out of a town population of 15,000, met with Dr. Daly in June that year and created the political pressure to get the anti-racism resolution passed by the School Committee, which ushered in the DEI program. George Floyd was killed in police custody in Minnesota, not North Reading. He was a violent, convicted felon who served many years in prison. He was intoxicated on fentanyl and had recently used methamphetamines at the time of his death. Now he’s a catalyst for major social upheaval in North Reading. For those who want to keep national politics out of the North Reading schools, you’re two years too late.
A key component of the meeting from June 2020 was the Hornets for Hate group in town, a far-left extremist organization that has attacked me and my family in the most vicious and hateful ways. The group is now relied upon by Dr. Daly as a key DEI partner of the school. This is a group that regularly spews hatred on their Facebook page, including attacking my wife for allowing herself to be, quote, “used.” Members of the group didn’t like a strong, independent, intelligent black woman voicing her opinion. Doris wandered a little too far off their plantation for their comfort.
I also learned Wednesday night that the school proudly says all genders are welcome. Notice the word “all.” They don’t say both genders are welcome. That is what they do with your kids. They embed these assumptions into language and teaching so it does not become a point of debate. They want it to be fact that there are more than two genders. Of course, in this situation, I personally have knowledge that science is real. And so I know that there are only two genders, but that’s not what your kids are learning. This is a definition of indoctrination. It’s time to wake up.
And what happens when your kids have the courage, or even just the intellectual curiosity, to challenge this radical orthodoxy? They will get treated like I did at the DEI forum. That night, the DEI coordinator in the most arrogant and presumptuous way said in reference to me that I’m “not there yet.” In other words, I have not adopted their radical worldview yet, but she’s going to work really hard to make sure I do. After all, that’s her job. And that’s why she gets paid with taxpayer money. Also, if you don’t agree with their radical views, you are told you need to be educated, which is actually worse than being attacked with accusations of racism and hate … because it has a cultural Marxist commandment embedded. You have not adopted the proper opinions. That must be fixed.
Everything you hear in the news about what is happening in the schools across the country, about how it’s just a conspiracy – that was completely debunked in this room on Wednesday night. It is a politically motivated disinformation to deny what is happening: radical gender curriculum for kids at a very young age; the 1619 project, twisting U.S. history to fit a left wing narrative; [and a] radical racial curriculum, including anti-racism and white privilege. It goes on and on.
Now I don’t think the members of this school board are radicals, but I wouldn’t know because you never say anything of substance on these important issues during these meetings, but it’s not enough to just not be a radical yourself. You need to be anti-radical in these times. It’s time to speak out against these policies that are way out of step with the politically moderate community of North Reading. It’s time to take back your power and reign in Dr. Daly and the other staff in this district that have taken it in a direction that would be shocking to most North Reading residents.
To the residents of North Reading: I know many of you moved here because of the school system. I also know it’s tough to face reality sometimes, but the reality is the school system has been driven into the ground since June 2020. It’s not going back to the great school system it was unless you rise up and fight back for the next generation. That means investing time in understanding what is happening in the schools. That means calling all school board members on their phones and letting them know your views. That means scheduling meetings with Dr. Daly to tell him to his face that he is way out of line. That means organizing at your kids’ sporting events on weekends and coming together as large groups to these school board meetings to reign in the school board members who have chosen not to be anti-radical.
The radicals have moved like a tsunami since June 2020. It’s time to clean up the mess, save our kids, save our school and save our community. ♦
