VICTOR JOECKS: Video of attack on judge shows problem with CRT

On Wednesday, a reader emailed me a video, telling me to watch. I did. A defense attorney told a Nevada judge that his client had completed mental health treatment and should receive probation. The judge said, “No” that he needed something different. Right as I wondered if I should skip ahead, it happened. I heard someone scream obscenities right before I saw the defendant leap over the bench to tackle the judge. As others struggled to subdue the man, his defense attorney stood at the bench.

In a world where the word is over used, it was shocking. In a depressing bit of irony, the American flag behind the judge crashed down during the melee.

If you’ve read Thursday’s Review-Journal front page, you know this took place Wednesday in Las Vegas. District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus was injured in the attack by defendant Deobra Redden. A marshal was also hurt and needed many stitches.

Notice, I didn’t mention the race of those involved. For those who make judgments based on actions or character, not skin color, it’s not necessary. What Redden did was wrong, regardless of the skin tone of those involved.

Yet think about this through the lens of critical race theory. CRT and its variants — like Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts — put race at the forefront. This worldview divides people based on skin color. Group identity trumps individual agency. White people are oppressors, while Blacks are the oppressed — always.

America, adherents to this theory contend, is built on white supremacy. Even supposedly neutral institutions, such as the justice system, are rife with inequities. This gives white people privilege and condemns minorities to worse outcomes. The supposed proof of this is the existence of racial disparities in things such as incarceration rates, SAT scores and income levels.

Their solution is to tear down the country’s foundational institutions and mandate that the government and society at large treat people differently until perfect racial proportionality is achieved.

That sounds a lot more extreme than vague calls for diversity. But this is what’s hiding behind those DEI buzzwords. “Racial inequity is evidence of racist policy,” Ibram X. Kendi wrote.

Yet, “equal demographic representation of different groups,” Thomas Sowell writes in “Social Justice Fallacies,” is “something that no one can seem to find anywhere,” in any country or throughout history.

Regarding the attack on Judge Holthus. CRT adherents don’t see two individuals, they see two representatives of their class. Redden is Black, so he’s oppressed. Holthus, who’s white, is the oppressor. Holthus, even when being tackled and beaten, can’t escape the oppressor label. The oppressed Redden is just expressing his legitimate rage at the country’s systemically racist criminal justice system.

If your worldview leads you to that sick conclusion, go back and rethink your assumptions.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.