Earlier this week, Ryan Walters went on one of those ultra-conservative indoctrination cable news channels to talk to some lady with weird eyebrows about how The Crisis At The Border™ is affecting public education in a state that’s about 500 miles from that border.
Well, at least that’s what they claimed they were doing.
In reality, the “interview” – term used loosely – was nothing more than Ryan Walters spending five minutes of wasted time rattling off words and phrases from the 2024 right-wing propaganda bingo card, all while making unfounded and unchecked claims like how fentanyl is running rampant in Oklahoma public schools and stuff like that.
If you want to start your morning in a very annoying way – or are simply a member of the MAGA choir who wants to be preached at by fellow psychos who have also been brainwashed by decades of for-profit right-wing media indoctrination – you can check out a snippet below:
Although it may seem absurd that a state school superintendent is going on TV to talk about an immigration issue taking place 500 miles away, there are some positives here.
First of all, maybe Ryan has found a new issue to exploit in his very calculated effort to climb up the psychotic GOP social ranks, and will now leave the education field behind to lead Oklahoma National Guard forces at the border! We can only dream, right?
Second, it could always be worse.
For example, he could be going on TV and encouraging Oklahoma students to skip college to become truck drivers…
That’s right, kids.
Unless you want to be an attorney, don’t set your ambitious sites on an “elitist” college degree.
Even though college grads, on average, make more than people who go to trade school, settle for a trade like truck driving where you can spend all day on the highway away from your friends and family, racking up debt while working as an indentured servant for a multinational corporation:
To be fair, Ryan is right in a very Captain Obvious type of way.
College isn’t for everyone, and as I’m reminded every time I need a plumber, A/C guy, or fresh latte from the Harbor Mountain Coffee House, there are plenty of trades out there where you can make a fine living.
It’s one reason why Oklahoma has an extensive network of “29 technology centers on 60 campuses” that serve “high school and adult learners with specialized career training in more than 90 instructional areas.”
That being said, every study, stat and paper in the world says that college graduates, on average, make more money the people who work in trades:
As a hardcore capitalist who believes in American exceptionalism and wants to teach students a patriotic Prager U history, you’d think Ryan would be extolling the virtues of college education, and how America’s universities have helped make this place the greatest, richest, and most powerful civilization in world history.
Then again, the dumb idiots who tune in to fringe right-wing cable news outlets to watch equally dumb idiots like Ryan Walters twist truths, spread lies and spout off fearmongering vitriolic propaganda probably wouldn't be very receptive to that fact, so I can see why he doesn’t bring it up.
Anyway, whether he’s on TV blabbering about immigration issues or simply telling kids to set their sights low and become truck drivers, I – an elitist community college hall of famer – will continue to follow the Ryan Walters beat and keep you informed about all the stupid things he says and does while using his taxpayer-funded office to improve his standing with the psychopathic right-wing propaganda media machine.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.