California journalism students given assignment promoting COVID-19 compliance, smearing conservatives

The reading assignment was shared by Twitter account Libs of TikTok, which exposes the woke COVID-19 insanity infiltrating K-12 schools across America.

Students were told to read an Atlantic piece from Feb. 3 written by University of California, Riverside, philosophy professor Eric Schwitzgebel, who is also the author of A Theory of Jerks and Other Philosophical Misadventures.

Screenshots of the assignment were also uploaded by Let Them Breathe, a parent group advocating for the removal of mask and vaccine mandates for students.

"This is the type of response that schools give to people who have used science based research to unmask. They call them a 'Covid jerk' and they list all the reasons why they are a selfish, uneducated 'jerk' for showing their smiles," Let Them Breathe's account remarked in the Instagram post's description.

Comments on the Instagram post identified the school as Chino Hills High School.

When asked what was the teaching objective of the assignment, a spokesperson for Chino Hills High School told The Post Millennial that a journalism teacher at the school provided the reading as an in-class exercise where the students dissected the writer's writing style, choice of language, and manner of presentation.

"The teacher believed the topic selected would invoke maximum participation among journalism students since it is a current subject of discussion in our community. The exercise was never intended to solicit favor for any particular side of the masking debate, but rather, to assist future journalists with assessing their responsibility of reporting news without bias," the school representative said.

The piece, titled "The COVID Jerk," explores the "boundaries of responsible behavior" and examines the shifting characterization of the "classic" stereotype.

Schwitzgebel describes the COVID-19 jerk archetype as a character who struts unmasked through the supermarket "exhaling clouds of risk on worried shoppers and employees" and "daring low-paid workers to try to enforce the new policies."

Flaunting "disdain" for the "scientific consensus," the spring 2020-era coronavirus jerk, according to Schwitzgebel, is a chronic complainer criticizing maximum-occupancy requirements and who breathes on you in the grocery store line.

Schwitzgebel defines the general term "jerk" as someone who "culpably fail to appreciate the intellectual and emotional perspectives of others around them."

Jerks "have no interest in exploring alternative views," Schwitzgebel writes. "Listening with an open mind is for other people..." he continues. "Unless in alignment with the jerk's own goals, other people's feelings, priorities, and values barely register in consciousness, or register only as targets for ridicule."

Schwitzgebel names former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a COVID-19 jerk who made recent headlines for dining outdoors at a Manhattan restaurant after testing positive for the virus and despite New York City's proof-of-vaccination requirement mandating businesses screen patrons desiring to dine indoors.

Palin's dinner also offended federal five-day quarantine guidelines. "She did this, presumably, without their knowledge or consent" when she "exposed nearby staff and diners to what most would regard as excessive risk," Schwitzgebel lambasts.

"We are not the border police," an Elio's employee had told the New York Post.

The unvaccinated ex-Republican vice presidential nominee had eaten indoors at the Italian restaurant and returned a second time to "apologize" for the fracas surrounding the previous visit. Palin was then seated in the heated outdoor area.

Having the "wrong opinions" about COVID-19 safety is not what makes someone a COVID-19 jerk though, Schwitzgebel notes. He tells readers to stipulate "hypothetically" that the risks of COVID-19 are overblown. "Assume for the sake of argument" that COVID-19 now poses "little more risk than the ordinary flu."

"Even if that's the case and you know it, you can still respect those who disagree," Schwitzgebel says, advising COVID-19 skeptics to pull up their face masks out of "politeness" and "in acknowledgement that you might be wrong" if others express that maskless breathing puts "lives at risk." Overall, it's the "dismissive attitude" toward outside concerns that makes a COVID-19 jerk, Schwitzgebel explains.

Schwitzgebel recommends readers follow certain "principles of non-jerkitude" he concocted. "Be open," he states, even citing the decline of positive coronavirus cases. "Don't hide your vaccination status. Don't hide a positive test result."

"Respecting others" mean disclosing what risks you bring so peers can respond according to his or her own "comfort level," Schwitzgebel states.

"Adhere to rule and custom" is Schwitzgebel's second rule to abide by. "If the supermarket requires masks, wear a mask, even if you think it's silly."

Others rely on your COVID-19 compliance with policies in deciding "when, where, and how to appear in public," Schwitzgebel writes. Even if there's no explicit rule, "don't be the one person violating customary precautions," he declares.

. Maybe you think that children should start playing together again without restriction, but another parent in your playdate group feels more cautious. Try respectful conversation aimed at compromise," he advises.