Neighbour gives Virginia mother the middle finger during Fox News interview on critical race theory
“I can’t believe that just happened... I’m really hurt right now because I thought that we had a rapport,” says Jessica Mendez
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A woman opposing critical race theory in schools was given a double-barreled "F-you" by a neighbour she thought was a friend during an interview with Fox News.
The news organization is in the midst of a multi-part series on parents at a Virginia school district who say they’ve been attacked and bullied by members of the “Anti-Racist Parents of Loudoun County” Facebook group.
As Fox was interviewing Jessica Mendez on the bullying her family received for publicly opposing the doctrine in schools, her neighbour flipped two birds in the background in clear view of the rolling cameras.
The person appears to do a little dance waiving the two middle fingers in the air from across the road and behind the back of Ms Mendez, who has two children enrolled in the district.
"I can’t believe that just happened, actually I thought that I had a good friend in my neighbours, and I’m really hurt right now because I thought that we had a rapport," Ms Mendez said.
She said the neighbour was a supporter of the Democrats but that she had thought they were still friends who could talk to each other despite their political differences.
“I honestly believed that that was the case. I guess I was wrong. I feel so betrayed right now because I, I’m so sad for people that can’t move past that and look at me and judge me for my character and who I am as a person instead of what my political beliefs are," she said.
Despite Fox News’ focus on the Facebook group and the parents who say they have been targeted by its members on social media as "racists", the school district says critical race theory is not included in its curriculum.
"Critical race theory is not something that is relatable on the K-12 level, it’s not something that is taught in our schools or presented to our students," interim superintendent Scott Ziegler told Fox.
But parents claim the curriculum’s "equity" learning is critical race theory in disguise, and they’ve sued Loudoun County Public Schools for discriminating against students based on race.
The court filing on Wednesday alleges the school disqualified white students from serving as "equity ambassadors", according to Fox News.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments