A senior at George Washington University is calling for the college to change its name.
Caleb Francois wrote in the Washington Post urging this change, citing the school’s alleged history of racism, white supremacy, and other nonsensical grievances that radical left-wingers today complain about. Yet, in reality, this is nothing more than the latest attempt by an indoctrinated left-wing ideologue looking to delegitimize our Founding Fathers.
Francois lists the usual left-wing platitudes of oppression in his op-ed, describing the university’s failings regarding racial justice. He claims the university’s problems stem from its racist past, which creates an uncomfortable present for nonwhite students.
“These problems are rooted in systemic racism, institutional inequality and white supremacy,” Francois writes. “Every day, hundreds of Black students walk on a campus named after an enslaver of men and study at a site named after dark parts of history. Such sites, among other locations and buildings, are touted as glorified mementos here at GW. The indignity and injustice of such sites remain overlooked.”
Additionally, Francois demands that the university expunge every prominent white historical figure at the school, insinuating they were all racists who hated black people.
“The racist visions of James Madison, Winston Churchill and others are glorified through building names, programs, statues and libraries that honor their memory,” Francois claimed. “The controversial Winston Churchill Library must go. The university’s contentious colonial moniker must go. Even the university’s name, mascot and motto — ‘Hail Thee George Washington’ — must be replaced. The hypocrisy of GW in not addressing these issues is an example of how Black voices and Black grievances go ignored and highlights the importance of strong Black leadership.”
These attacks on our country’s history by left-wing radicals are nothing new. Most recently, they were tearing down the statues of Confederate soldiers as a way to appease the left-wing mob. They claimed such figures reinforced the country’s racist past and were insensitive to blacks. So those in power gave in to those demands.
However, anyone who ever studied history knew this was just the beginning — that these fanatics would ultimately come for other historical figures as well. Officials’ acquiescence has emboldened them to attack our country’s founders today. It is why people like Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and even George Washington, the father of our country, are now vilified. Winston Churchill, whose grit defeated fascism in Europe, is now reviled as well.
Through all of his vile rationalizing and condemnation, the one thing Francois doesn’t admit is that he simply hates white historical figures, including those who accomplished extraordinary good things in their time that he could never match in a hundred lifetimes. Francois’s complaints are mere virtue-signaling, meant to augment his own personal stature at the expense of our country’s credibility.
GW doesn’t need to address these issues because, in reality, these issues don’t actually exist today.
Sure, when a university administration does not submit to these outlandish and radical demands, people like Francois cry foul and attempt to turn it into an example of contemporary racism. But a refusal to give in to these demands is not racism. It doesn’t make anyone genuinely uncomfortable. It doesn’t create grounds for the grievances Francois claims to feel.
There is no point in submitting to absurd requests from a self-righteous, entitled college student who thinks he is owed something because of historical events that never included him, involved him, or harmed him in any way.
Furthermore, and most importantly, the choice to ignore Francois would reinforce the significance of George Washington. It is only because of people like George Washington that Francois even has the right to publish such America-hating nonsense in the first place.
