LETTER FROM WASHINGTON
That’s an unusual start to the interview, even by American television standards. “Senator McMorrow, before I even ask you the first question, just… Thank you for those words and the power behind them. » The presenter of the MSNBC channel, Jonathan Capehart, does not hide his enthusiasm in front of his guest, elected Democrat of the thirteenth district of the State of Michigan.
So what did 35-year-old Mallory McMorrow do to deserve such deference? A speech of almost five minutes, Tuesday April 19, in the precincts of the local Senate, where she has sat since 2019, to respond to the defamatory remarks of another elected, Republican.
In an email to donors, Senator Lana Theis accused Mallory McMorrow of promoting the manipulation and sexualization of kindergarten children. This is in no way a one-time, individual slippage, but an illustration, among many others, of the abuses observed throughout the country, on the Republican side. Some of the elected members of the “Grand Old Party” (GOP) have engaged with crusader fervor in a culture war against the left, the unions, the progressives, in short those whom they consider to be the foot soldiers of Evil. A war of which the school is the first battlefield.
These elected Republicans claim in places a so-called “pragmatic” approach – claiming to rebalance the power between parents of students and teachers in the definition of programs. But others stop at nothing to stigmatize their adversaries, make unfounded accusations about alleged sexual deviance or the supposed ravages of “wokism”, which would only consist of a long session of historical repentance.
An unusual angle
Several dozen states have already passed legislation restricting what can be taught about racism or history. Faced with this offensive, the Democratic camp is often uncomfortable or in denial. He stammers, blushes, lowers his head or is offended, on the defensive. It is in this context that Mallory McMorrow intervenes, his speech, his 13.7 million views on social networks, his immediate status as a national celebrity according to his passages on all the so-called liberal channels.
The elected Democrat did not lower her head. On the contrary, she knocked back, from an unusual angle: administering a lesson in religion and tolerance, in a strained voice. “My mother taught me from a young age that Christianity and faith meant being part of a community, recognizing our privileges and our luck, doing what we could in order to serve others, especially those who were marginalized, targeted, who had less, often unfairly”she explains.
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