I loved Florida when I was growing up there—back before The Mouse and an influx of new residents had changed the state forever. Moss-hung live oaks, lazy tannin-stained rivers, palmetto thickets—a quietly rural way of life just beyond the city limits. Mild winters, hot, barefoot summers—but not so hot that a big attic fan couldn’t provide relief.
It was idyllic—if you were white and straight. I remember the separate and unequal facilities, the back of the bus, the segregation. And today it seems as if elements in Florida are working hard to re-disenfranchise great swaths of the population.
I hardly recognize today’s Florida. Unchecked growth and a political mindset that I find abhorrent. Now Gov. DeSantis is pushing for a bill that would require all bloggers writing about him to register with the state.
What?
So, although I’m not the sort of big-name political blogger he’s targeting, I feel compelled to get ahead of this proposed legislation and write about DeSantis.
He's not as tacky or crude as The Former Guy but I find his actions and priorities alarming: banning diversity programs at public universities; allowing the carrying concealed weapons without training or permit; expanding school vouchers, to the certain detriment of public education; adding more restrictions on abortion; redrawing congressional districts to favor Republicans—the list goes on . . .
Get government off our back—isn’t this one of the GOP’s watchwords? With DeSantis, government is in the bedroom, the classroom, and the media. Yes, you’re free to carry a gun—just don’t say gay-- or suggest that white people have always enjoyed unfair advantages--or write about DeSantis.
