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The Roundup Top Ten for May 27, 2022

White Replacement Theory is Fascism's New Name

by Jason Stanley and Federico Finchelstein

The global adoption of the idea of ethnic replacement by right-wing politicians is a repackaging of the themes of Jim Crow racism, eugenics and fascism. 

What Parents Did Before Baby Formula

by Carla Cevasco

"The formula shortage is not a victory for breastfeeding. It is a calamity for families who, like families throughout history, just want to feed their children."

Banning Abortion and The Buffalo Shooting are Connected

by Mytheli Sreenivas

The seeming coincidence of the Buffalo shooter's "Great Replacement" manifesto and the leaked Supreme Court decision actually highlights the way that women's reproductive freedoms are central to the politics of race and demography. 

The CRT and "Don't Say Gay" Panics Aren't About Controlling Public Schools, but Destroying Them

by Adam Laats

In the 1920s, the KKK sought to strengthen and control the public schools as vehicles to teach their version of "100% Americanism"; today's culture warriors hope to undermine trust in schools as a way to defund and privatize them. 

The Imminent Demise of Roe Signals More Christian Nationalist Attacks on Secular America

by David Sehat

Christian conservatives are targeting not just abortion or contraception, but the broader idea of a secular American republic. 

Corporate Activism is a Dead End

by Joanna Wuest

Corporate support for LGBTQ rights cannot substitute for building sexual and gender freedom into a working people's movement for change. 

Midge Decter: An Overlooked Intellectual Forerunner of Trumpism

by Ronnie Grinberg

By connecting social turmoil to the decline of traditional family and gender roles even before Roe or the rise of second-wave feminism, Midge Decter created a foundation for the politics of family values. 

Biden's Remarks on Taiwan are Potentially Dangerous Provocation to China

by Stephen Wertheim

In itself, Biden's statement about defending Taiwan doesn't raise any possibilities that the Chinese military hasn't already considered. But it does threaten the American posture of "strategic ambiguity" that underlies diplomatic discussions. 

Facing the Truth in the Land of Lee

by Laura Brodie

The controversy over removing Robert E. Lee's portrait from diplomas at Washington and Lee University points to an uncomfortable truth: Lee's historical depiction as handsome has been a visual symbol of the Lost Cause that has contributed to acceptance of the pro-Confederate mythology. 

The Brief Life and Watery Death of a 1970s Libertarian Utopia

by Raymond Craib

The Republic of Minerva was a product of a postwar moment when the wealthy sought to exit from a society they viewed as overbearing and doomed.