Of course, that influence isn’t always benign:
It’s true, every halfway intelligent right winger I know irl had a massive conflict with at least one elementary teacher over things like: reading ahead, reading too difficult books, not showing enough work, etc etc. it’s the first time we experience the uncaring tyranny of state bureaucracy and it sucks.
When we moved from Houston, TX to Sandy, UT and I started Kindergarten, I was put in the retard class because of my “speech impediment.” Once my parents came in and started talking, that was resolved. Later, I was forbidden to check out books on geology – volcanos were like super-cool! – then found out other kids were told to avoid me as we didn’t go to the local stakehouse.
I quickly learned to hate teachers, librarians, and Mormons in short order.
Comment by Clayton Barnett — April 16, 2026 @ 11:15
Did they give you a reason why geology books were off-limits to you, Clayton? I’m scratching my head about what possible objection they could have to those …
Comment by Nicholas — April 16, 2026 @ 11:34
Carl Benjamin talks about the meme that kicked off this thread on his YouTube channel –
Comment by Nicholas — April 16, 2026 @ 15:30
“Only 3rd or 4th graders can understand Geology.”
Oh. Really.
Comment by Clayton Barnett — April 16, 2026 @ 21:17