Parents in Florida are terrified of Gov. Ron DeSantis

Originally published at: Parents in Florida are terrified of Gov. Ron DeSantis | Boing Boing

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It’s probably just a pipe dream, but if all the teachers in Florida got together and went on strike, they could stand a chance of getting these laws overturned.

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Well, one, there are some parents who are on board with Desantis’ project. And second, I have no doubt that he would use extreme forms of violence on any mass movement - like at the levels employed by some southern states during Civil Rights. I’m sure that many Black Americans would be prepared to deal with that, but far too many white, middle class parents - even those who vehemently oppose these measures - would not be prepared for. It would be a struggle to maintain that kind of pressure, and unlike during the civil rights era, where the media prided itself on being far more objective on these issues, there is a much more diffuse media landscape, with only a few outlets willing to not “both sides” issues like this.

I do think that you’re right, that it COULD turn the tide, but that’s not for sure. They need strong backing from the rest of the country (or those of us who see what is happening and oppose it) and from the government. We’d have to see how much the GOP extremists in the house would be willing to gum up the works to getting support to those who opposed FL turn to fascism.

[ETA: just realized you said “teachers” but the point still stands… especially considering what @evadrepus just noted…

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Florida, America’s fascism petri dish.

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It’s probably just a pipe dream, but if all the teachers in Florida got together and went on strike, they could stand a chance of getting these laws overturned.

Massive teacher shortage (~6k) in Florida right now with over 100k kids without a full-time teacher. Teacher pay is 49th in the nation. Teachers are already an endangered species there.

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All Florida parents should be scared for their children’s educations and future prospects. If DeSantis succeeds at transforming this college into some Libertarian/Xtianist indoctrination centre he won’t stop there.

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Not good.

But, he won his election by getting nearly 50% more votes than the Democratic candidate. You can either do 1 of 3 things - vote him out next election, move, or endure.

The problem is, what he and his gestapo are doing will not be fully realized for years, and will last well after he has either fled the state or ascended higher into national politics to spread his beliefs nationally.

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So… fascism is okay, because he won the election? He’s literally book banning and supporting the elimination of trans people. “He won the election” does not justify that shit.

Kenan Thompson Snl GIF by Saturday Night Live

Also, gerrymandering is a thing… Not to mention him weaponizing the police against people who were accidentally added to the voter roles, as they had believed that they had cleared all their hurdled to be reinstated after spending time in prison.

sexy the walking dead GIF

it is being realized RIGHT NOW.

John Oliver covered some of what he’s doing this past week:

And here is how some are reacting to how bad things are getting:

Stop “both siding” this shit. People are under threat right now and “he got elected” is no fucking excuse for accepting fascism and abandoning millions of human beings to a fascist government.

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You can fight him on every front. Funding. Hopes for the presidency. Filibuster every damn bill. Sue him for all his actions that should be illegal. Start a tourism boycott.

Top of my head.

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Which total is less than the 1,686,000 released felons who remain disenfranchised despite the ballot measure approved by 65% of Floridians in 2018, which the gerrymandered Florida legislature did an end around by corrupting it into a pay-to-play scheme.

As @Mindysan33 points out, that disenfranchisement is exacerbated by voter suppression, like the show-arrest of Kelvin Bolton, who registered to vote in good faith but was arrested for illegal voting, anyway.

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His hair looks like a Devo plastic pompadour, from the “Through Being Cool” era.

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The Republican party has fully embraced fascism, which opens up other options.

What would happen if we started saying that we should do to Republicans what Republicans are doing to trans people?

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There can be no middle way in dealing with republicanism. It is all or nothing. If republicanism is true, then it’s true for everybody of all ages, If it is false, then for the good of society, and especially for the good of the poor people who have fallen prey to this confusion, republicanism must be eradicated from public life entirely — the whole preposterous ideology.”

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Participatory government in a free and democratic society does not begin and end at the ballot box. There are plenty of ways to protest DeSantis and his policies and Americans need to use all of them.

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Seth Meyers Idk GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers

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Parents in Florida are right to be terrified of him. He’s trying to out trump Trump and he’s succeeding.

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My apologies if this has already been posted elsewhere on BB. The subject pic is further down. The gift is a picture of a snowflake with “Fascist” hidden within it.

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fascists are the biggest snowflakes.

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not always

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