I examine the development of my political clarity and its relation to the exercise of humanistic violence as a K-12 teacher in the United States. Reflecting upon my experiences as a classroom and community educator, I conclude that the mission of forging a new humanity is currently not possible from within the U.S. classroom. Presenting a series of testimonios with reflections regarding political clarity and humanistic violence, I make the case that K-12 institutions constrain our ability to truly explore and commit to more humanizing ways of knowing and being. I recommend that we be wary of the multicultural trap: "utilizing the ways of knowing and being of diverse peoples in order to better teach them how to know and be Western."