Teeeeeexas

I've started taking things that are said about Texas... personally. Not because I'm in disagreement or even that I'm offended. It's just that, now that I live here, it affects me. And no, I would certainly die before sending my fictional children to public school in Texas. But I still have to put up with the snarky tweets from my more liberal friends that still don't understand the decision to come here. Keep your enemies closer...?

When I came across an article calling Texas out for its science standards only receiving a grade of "C" from a national board, I was honestly surprised. From the media attention, I would've thought Texas science standards were graded on a John-Paul-Matthew sort of scale. Well, the people stirring up controversy and trying to usher creationism into the curriculum are apparently not necessarily the majority. While religious-political ideology has been promoted at different points, it's had a harder time actually becoming part of statewide education. And that's fine with me. Left alone, Texas science education has done a decent job at least addressing evolution (many states simply drop it from their curriculum to avoid controversy completely).

The thing that struck me about the article, however, was not that Texas is succeeding or failing at teaching science and evolution. It was a quote from the former Chairman of the State Board of Education for Texas, Don McLeroy. He declared, boldly in my opinion, "somebody's got to stand up to the experts" on the subject of evolution.

WHAT.

INTHEACTUAL.

FUCK.

No, seriously. Let's reeeeeally digest what McLeroy is saying here. He's conceded that scientists are the experts on evolution. And then, he's put a call out to FIGHT BACK against the experts. With me so far? He's blatantly saying, fuck the scientists, fuck the experts in this field, I KNOW BETTER. This so appropriately, accurately, and efficiently sums up how I see the general public facing science these days: pitchforks of ignorance raised high in protest to something they haven't bothered learning or trying to understand.