The State of Washington Thinks You're a Terrorist for Asking Questions

HB 1333 seeks to criminalize wrongthink and use Public Health measures to "de-radicalize" (re-educate) political dissidents. You have until January 31 to submit a comment to state representatives.

Everything just keeps getting weirder. HB 1333 seeks to establish a commission to combat “Domestic Violent Extremists,” which clearly targets political dissidents. You can view the details of the bill here. Below is a screenshot from the January 24th hearing of the bill. The message is clear: don’t speak out or question the dominant narrative, lest you be labeled a domestic violent extremist. During the presentation, they actually stated out loud that we need to restrict "the free flow of information,” which is an obvious first amendment violation. They also promoted the idea that so-called radicals should be identified and sent to “de-radicalization” camps for re-education before reintegrating into society, which is what actually happens in the novel 1984. I wish I was making this up. It feels like a bad dystopian novel. The bad guys are too obvious, the citizenry too oblivious, and yet, here we are.

Below is the e-mail I sent to embers of the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee. Please reach out to them in opposition of this heinous bill before January 31st.

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Dear Members of the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee,

My name is Valerie Masai-Aspaas. I am a former teacher and former loyalist to the mission of public education. My husband (who is a legal immigrant) and I moved to Washington State in 2018 seeking an environment that embraced liberal values, a place where our family could thrive without being discriminated against. I thought Washington State was a place where people were judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. This superficial touting of upholding diversity and inclusion does not include diversity of thought. 

I graduated with a Master’s in Education from the University at Buffalo in 2018 with a 4.0 GPA. I excel at understanding educational practice, and I have brushed off some of the more bizarre elements of public education, always giving the benefit of the doubt until it became too much. I have taught in Japan, Buffalo, NY, and Seattle. Of all of these places, Seattle has been the most flush with cash and the only place where I have been screamed at during professional development seminars, shuffled into racially segregated “affinity groups,” and told that two-year-olds are exploring their sexual identities. Only in Seattle have I been told that I need to lie to parents or keep secrets from them. These are radical ideologies and radical approaches to the mission of education, and to deny any opposition against them, to call any opposition against them “terrorism” is anti-American. It is antithetical to the mission of education to disallow questions or conversations that challenge the dominant narrative. 

I am writing to you today in regards to HB 1333, which would create a "domestic violence extremism commission." This bill is a threat to democracy and our core values as a nation. This bill targets political opposition, not terrorist groups. If the bill were to truly target domestic violent extremism, we would have heard that they would investigate Antifa, they would investigate the groups that overtook the CHAZ/CHOP, they would investigate the Trans Rights Activists who have physically assaulted women with no consequence. Instead, they believe concerned moms and grassroots organizations exercising their right to free speech at school board meetings are more of a danger to society than the disaffected young men in black bloc clothing destroying property for kicks. Where were you in 2020, observing from the safety of your gilded halls? I was pregnant, circumventing the CHAZ/CHOP just to get to the doctor’s, terrified of accidentally encountering tear gas which is an abortifacient. I was driving around the city to drop off food and schoolwork to my students, many of whom greatly suffered under the long-term lockdowns. These are the students you claim to defend by forcing your bizarre ideology down their throats. I taught adolescent English Language Learners during my time at Seattle Public Schools. These bright young people wanted to learn real-world skills like reading, writing and math. They worked hard (and many went through Hell) to get here to the U.S. and have a better life, and now the only permissible narrative you will allow in schools is that the U.S. is a horrible country entrenched in racism and violence. Anybody that says otherwise is a “domestic violent extremist.” You are promoting a legacy of hopelessness and victimization through public education, and HB 1333 seeks to demonize anybody who upholds patriotic or Enlightenment values. 

As seen in the committee hearing on January 24th, this bill is an anti-American tool for controlling political dissidents. I wish I could say I was shocked when I heard the goal of using public health initiatives to “re-educate” or “de-radicalize” dissidents, but I was not surprised because I am well-versed in how Mao Zedong terrorized his people during the Cultural Revolution. HB 1333 would seek to void an American’s rights for the crime of engaging in “wrongthink” and send them off to be brainwashed before re-integrating into society. To call this government overreach is an understatement. To make any claim of “liberalism” or any mention of “protecting democracy” is an absolute fallacy as you seek greater and greater authoritarian control. 

This bill must not be passed out of committee. I respectfully request your vote of “NO” on January 31.

Thank you,

-Valerie Masai-Aspaas