By Diane Roberts
Florida was once a New South state.
From the early 1960s to 2000 or so, Florida had leaders who looked to the future, determined to leave Jim Crow behind and separate ourselves from the likes of Alabama. We had governors committed to equal justice, open government, and voting rights — however imperfectly achieved.
No more. With the reelection of Ron DeSantis, and ultra-conservative victories in gerrymandered congressional districts across the state, Florida is sliding back into the mire of its Old South past.
Now, before y’all start yelping about how Florida isn’t really Southern, let me just remind you: Florida was third to secede in 1861, after South Carolina and Mississippi. North Florida was plantation country.
We can pretend that history doesn’t matter, but our justice system — much of it a relic of when white people were terrified that ex-slaves might wreak revenge on them — and laws like “Stand Your Ground” allow us to kill or incarcerate a disproportionate number of Black people. The way Florida’s ruling Republicans try to ban ideas they don’t like and encourage an absurd sense of white victimhood is more Mississippi than Minnesota.
You don’t have to like grits and sweet tea to behave like a member of the Pork Chop Gang.
As for DeSantis, he’s George Wallace with a Harvard Law degree and a talent for plausible deniability.
This isn’t a surprise. DeSantis didn’t really try very hard to disguise his racism when he ran for governor in 2018. He’d appeared at white nationalist conferences alongside the likes of David Horowitz and Steve Bannon.
DeSantis insisted he didn’t know those guys were racists; I mean, come on: “How the hell am I supposed to know every single statement someone makes?”
Perhaps someone could tell him about Google.
Freak flag
Over the past four years, DeSantis has let his racist freak flag fly. He appointed a person who apparently thought it was fun to dress up as a Klansman to the county commission in majority-black Gadsden County.
He rejected the Legislature’s congressional district map, which would have elected four black people to the House of Representatives, redrawing boundaries in a way that made the districts more white and more Republican.
His absurd Election Police did their best to scare voters a few weeks before the midterms, arresting 20 people, 15 of whom are black, for fraud. They all had felony convictions, but the state of Florida — whose responsibility it is to maintain accurate rolls — sent them registration cards and gave them the strong impression it was legal for them to vote.
One of the cases has already been thrown out by an exasperated Miami judge. But the damage was done. Many perfectly legitimate voters said they wouldn’t go near a polling place in 2022.
It’s only going to get worse. In their quest to ensure right-wing wins, Republicans have invented yet another way to suppress the vote. If you’re one of the 150,000 Florida citizens on probation, you have to attest that “you are solely responsible for determining if you are legally able to register to vote and that you must solely determine if you are lawfully qualified to vote.”
This is hard to do, given that the state often has no idea if you’re eligible to vote. You have to hope the county supervisor’s office can help or maybe hire a lawyer. If you vote illicitly, even if the state issued you a voter registration card, you’re busted.
For DeSantis and his party, the fewer people voting the better. A day before the midterms, The Washington Post reported that in South Florida, elderly people or those without cars who used to depend on friends to deliver ballots to the elections supervisor’s office were out of luck. “Ballot harvesting” is now a third-degree felony that can get you up to five years in prison.
Earlier in the year, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, not fooled by nonsense about danger to the “integrity” of our elections, struck down DeSantis’ attempts to stop people of color from voting. He pointed to Florida’s “grotesque history of racial discrimination,” citing the 1920 Ocoee Massacre when at least 30 black people were killed by a white mob furious that “negroes” were trying to exercise the franchise.
Unfortunately for democracy in Florida, the Trump appointee-heavy U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned Judge Walker’s ruling.
‘Stop WOKE’
On Nov. 17, the same judge halted enforcement of the “Stop Woke Act,” an attack on academic freedom in schools and universities that would discourage honest discussion of Ocoee or the Tallahassee Bus Boycott or the astonishing number of lynchings in Florida, more per capita than any other state.
The judge quoted George Orwell, blasting DeSantis’ attempt to deny teachers free speech rights here in the “free” state of Florida. If they hear about systemic racism or white privilege or read “The 1619 Project” or maybe novels by Toni Morrison or poetry by a gay person, well, something terrible will happen.
Their white feelings might get hurt.
Knowledge is scary to our Viktor Orbán-wannabe. Confederate states banned Uncle Tom’s Cabin, lest impressionable people decide slavery was wrong. Ron DeSantis tries to conceal public records that you, the citizens of Florida, have a right to see. His administration had to be dragged into court and forced to release information about how his minions conspired to trick legal Venezuelan asylum seekers in San Antonio onto planes to Massachusetts where they were abandoned and forced to depend on the kindness of strangers (which turned out to be considerable).
In 1861, Confederates felt certain God had made them for a special purpose: saving the white race. In 2022, a midterm campaign ad disguised as divine revelation intoned that, “on the eighth day,” God created Ron DeSantis to crusade against wokery and vaccines and reproductive freedom and affirmative action, and, of course, the scourge of Drag Queen Story Hour.
Most of the United States rejected this hatefulness and embrace of ignorance by refusing to elect authoritarians, election deniers, and white nationalists. Not Florida. We’re whistling Dixie and marching backwards into our future.
Diane Roberts is an 8th-generation Floridian, born and bred in Tallahassee. Educated at Florida State University and Oxford University in England, she has been writing for newspapers since 1983, when she began producing columns on the legislature for the Florida Flambeau. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Times of London, the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Oxford American, and Flamingo. She has been a member of the Editorial Board of the St. Petersburg Times–back when that was the Tampa Bay Times’s name–and a long-time columnist for the paper in both its iterations. She was a commentator on NPR for 22 years and continues to contribute radio essays and opinion pieces to the BBC. Roberts is also the author of four books.
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Mike Cocchiola says
We live in a racist county in a racist state with a racist governor and legislature. Since I moved here 20 years ago I’ve watched the Republican Party regress the state back to the ’50s. Whether the 1950s or the 1850s can be debated.
I’ve ad numerous people tell me to leave if I don’t like it. For the most part, I’ve been here longer than they have. Anyway, since I’m pretty sure about 40% of the country is decidedly racist, no matter where I move, I’ll be confronted with racism. Might as well fight it here.
Jeff says
This site would be great without the political bias. Good coverage of the locals news and great coverage on the storms. Enough already with the radical woke opinions.
starryid says
In the 31 years I have been a Florida Resident Governor Ron DeSantis is the best our state has elected!!
Aj says
People keep voting for Repubs. Things will get worse for people of color. Another Exodus from Fla. is possible. Dems it is time to vote in big numbers.
Lance Carroll says
I don’t adhere to political/party affiliation. Although, I’d have to recognize that this published article is a very slanted essay.
Lance Carroll
Nan says
Diane Roberts speaks the truth about DeSantis, bless het. When will the backward, autocratic, powet hungry politicians that incite hate and biogtry like Desantis be put in their place? I hope soon because DeSantis and his minoons are destrying Florida.
Al Mathes says
I am not that prejudiced since I have black friends but when 13% of the black population commit over 40% of the murders and over 55% of all crime it’s no wonder why they are sterotyped. Most of what you say is trash. GET THE FACTS. Most articles that are abusive come from democrats who are trying to destroy our country. I pray we never see their agenda go in full force. Defend the police too, right?
Ha Ha says
🙄
Marlee says
The voters are embracing its Dixie-fied Past and
the new George Wallace as Gov.
Sabrina says
The proliferation of the Internet and smartphones has brought significant changes to the media landscape since the turn of the 21st century. This has created a shift in the consumption of print media channels, as people increasingly consume news through e-readers, smartphones, and other personal electronic devices, as opposed to the more traditional formats of newspapers (such as this article), magazines, or television news channels. News organizations are challenged to fully monetize their digital wing, as well as improvise on the context in which they publish in print. Newspapers have seen print revenues sink at a faster pace than the rate of growth for digital revenues. After reading this article, I do not consider this journalism. Back to being an e-reader. Edward R Morrow and Walter Cronkite, we trusted you. We miss you !
Dennis C Rathsam says
Com,mon Pierre, Another hit job on my governor. De Santis is no George Wallace, only a fool would say that. As for what I see The south is rising again….Florida is leading the way. Florida,s voters threw Charlie Crist out the door, may this old donkey fade away. Florida voters remember the last time he was our governor…they didnt let that happen again. Hit jobs & hit jobs on republicans…Its time some truth be told here, Im tiered of hering how great the democrates are doing…FRANKLY I dont see it, everytime I go to the store, get gas, pay my taxes it cost double than under the GOP!
Terri Lodge says
Wow. The kind of statements presented is the kind that truly divides this country. Whether we like it or not, the past is the past. Our history, like so many other countries, is filled with injustice and prejudice. You will find it everywhere. The difference in the US is we allow people to tear down verbally our government, trash our people and preach falsehoods just to hear themselves speak. To stop teaching about our past is a huge mistake. If we don’t know our history, we are doomed to relive it. Let our future generations see the error that was made by our grandfathers and great-grandfathers so we will understand how to make our country a better place. I am thankful I have lived in Florida for over 60 years and my family has lived here for several generations. Being from the South and proud to be from the South doesn’t mean I would ever want to see us or any of our leaders repeat tragedies from the past. Our country has dropped into chaos these last few years with prices soaring and people desperate to stop the madness. Let’s discuss what is happening now..
Tony says
You sound as if you really know what’s going on. Good for you. I’m with you . The jackass’s think their doing great. Just look at the states they run.
Gary Monahan, Sr. says
Diane Roberts
LEFT WING HACK
Pierre Tristam says
I’d normally stop reading after the blackface disclaimer of the commenter’s opening words but the rest needs context (and some correction) even though it’s a redder herring than the red-hatted rhetoric the guy’s wearing: nowhere does Roberts contest criminal ratios, as that’s not the point, though in the context of the Stand Your Ground issue she does bring up, the commenter is missing the most essential point. Roberts alluded to that point. The United States Commission on Civil Rights proved it. First off though numbers-wise, Blacks don’t commit 55 percent of all crimes. They accounted for 26.6 percent of arrests for all crimes, as of the FBI’s latest available numbers (2019). So when the commenter capitalizes the admonition to GET THE FACTS, he might try not relying on Fox-and-Fraud-type morning chat shows. His murder rate is also wrong, the other way: Black arrests accounted for 51.2 percent of the year’s 8,000 murders, a reflection of a serious problem the media unquestionably tends to ignore: Black on Black violence. Even then: what the number masks is the downplaying of white-on-Black violence in the context of stand your ground cases: “controlling for variables, the odds a white-on-black homicide being found justified is 281 percent greater than the odds a white-on-white homicide is found justified,” a report of the The United States Commission on Civil Rights (meeting in Orlando) in 2020 found. Plenty there to discuss. I doubt the commenter, busy polishing his Black creds with his maga hat, is interested.
MS says
That article IS what’s happening now. Right now, in our “free” state.
Large says
Truly disappointed this garbage opinion piece was given the light of day.
DeSantis won by 20 points so this “author” is calling the vast majority of Florida residents racists.
Her self proclaimed educational background is lost with her liberal woke mentality. GARBAGE!
Mike says
The author forgot to mention how the “racist” Ron DeSantis appointed Gregory Toney, an unqualified black man, to be Sheriff of Broward County in 2018. Despite the fact that Toney killed a man when he was 14 years old in Philadelphia under very questionable circumstances, has already been proven to be a liar and a perjurer, and has been under continuous investigation by the FDLE for lying on a job application to his former police department , lying to obtain a police certificate, and lying to obtain a Florida driver’s license, “racist” Ron has refused to remove him from office. That doesn’t quite square up with the author’s narrative, so of course, she omitted it. Maybe the AUTHOR has not heard of Google?
Tired of it says
Please tell me , specifically, what he has done for the state, other than limiting the choice sa woman can make for herself.
Ed Jones says
This woman should have a seat on “The View”. Roberts would fit right in.
Norman Hughes says
Mike, you and Diane Roberts are really being led by the great deceiver and he is using you to promote the evil behind your articles. It is not regressing to the past but fighting back against secular humanism, socialism, and the progressive movement. You and Diane need to step back and really see what the agenda of Gov. DeSantis and many of the Republican representative across the state and nation are really trying to accomplish and why. Our nation is under siege and heading down the path of Sodom and Gomorrah. Proof is the slide from above 90% of Americans at the turn of the century feeling they are spiritual and God fearing compared to most recent polls showing now below 50%. I would be interested in knowing your spiritual status and Diane’s too? We live in a nation evolving for sure racially, culturally, ethnically. I fear for my great grand and grandchildren that like many species it is headed toward extinction due to the acceptance and promotion of abnormal lifestyles with the accompanying hate that it stimulates with violent consequences.
Deborah Coffey says
Thank you, Pierre. This commenter and all the others posting here need to be outed with TRUTH at every moment…not that they would recognize if it jumped up and smacked them in their faces. This article is spot on and I’ve lived in Florida for 45 years. It’s the worst climate we’ve lived through here, no pun intended. The bigotry and racism is tangible now, simply because leadership has encouraged them, and given them permission, to come out from under their rocks in order to benefit those “leaders'” political fortunes. It’s despicable.
Will says
100% agree
All they say about politics is wrong and against the governor.
J2 says
I agree 100%
Deborah Coffey says
Well, let’s just say it straight out; the vast majority of Floridians ARE racists all egged on by Trump and Ron DeSantis. What we need to do is make OVERT RACISM and/or OVERT BIGOTY a felony with a mandatory 10-year prison sentence. That would include legislators passing laws that are racist and governors signing them (CRT, Don’t say GAY, no trans medical care). It would include social media posts. How many new prisons would Florida need to lock up all its racists and bigots? Think about that!
Joe D says
If Ron Is the “best” our state can produce, Florida is truly in TROUBLE. He is actually MORE dangerous than Donald Trump….because he’s smarter ( and know how to get away with things behind people’s backs….from the Wizard of Oz: “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain”
GREAT article! I’ll refer back to it in about 3 years I’m sure….especially about the HATE speech, I’m sure I’ll get for having a different opinion….so much for free speech! Another constitutional right in serious question under the leadership of Ron DeSantis.
Sue says
Why?
It is undeniable current reality.
Wanta put it under the rug?
Sue says
How so?
Pierre Tristam says
Because when a DeSantis appoints a Black person sheriff or a Bush appoints a Thomas to the Supreme Court, that immediately erases their Willie Horton cynicism? Some of Mike’s best friends must be Black, too.
Joe D says
Bravo! My observations exactly!
Norman Meyer says
I agree. Most of her article are dribble with a distorted slant,
Pogo says
@Diane Roberts
X -ring, dead center — as usual. The churlish thug, and the rest of the elected Republican Party orcs, in a nutshell — pun intended.
https://desantiswatch.org/influence-watch/
Thank you, Diane Roberts — and FlaglerLive.
Norman Meyer says
The people/elected representatives decide the issue. The Governor must base his/her decision on the popular vote. This is not a Federal issue as declared by the Supreme Court.
Deborah Coffey says
“You and Diane need to step back and really see what the agenda of Gov. DeSantis and many of the Republican representatives across the state and nation are really trying to accomplish and why.”
What they’re REALLY trying to accomplish is remaking America into a Fascist state like Russia. If you think you’d like to live like that, keep on with your Christian nationalism but, you probably won’t like it much once you get it. https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/russia/monthly-earnings
Bill says
Undeniable if you indulge in fantasies! It’s undeniable if you hate the USA. And it’s undeniable if you want to teach first graders thay can be a number of different sexes. And it’s undeniable if you want to teach kids that you are automatically either a racist or a victim simply because of you skin color. But it is very undeniable if you are morally deprived!
Bill says
Your right Mike! Leftists are trying ti instutionalize anti-white, anti-asian and anti-jewish oppression.
Joanne says
You people are idiots! You see racism under every rock, behind every tree, and you enhance it! Florida’s governor is not a racist and you and the ultra left are so afraid he will be president in 2024 that you lie, obfuscate and cheat in order to stop him! He is already in your heads just as Trump has been for the last 7 years! We in Florida know you and know the sneaky stinking dirty tricks you democrats pull. And I say, anyone who moved here and brought their nasty, unhinged politics with them should leave now!!!!!!! Including you. Our lives are better than any democrat state or city in this country. No ‘woke’ here. No boys trying to be girls or girls trying to be boys here because our governor is blasting the teachers not to sexual our our children! It seems all you democrats have become pedophiles. You disgust me & every other true Floridian. Our kids are not your sex toys or experiments in fluidity. Look in a mirror and see the nasty, disgraceful party you have become & go back to whatever stinking sewer city you came from.
Gail Damato says
Just wanted to say I completely agree with you. I’ve only been here for 30 years. I came from NJ and was and have always been a Democrat. I am also a Christian and believe what Jesus taught and I live my life that way, loving and respecting all of man kind.
Dave says
So much hate in forums, and column responses these days. If you step back and look at the haters of others both political sides do a pretty good job of if.
Nephew of Uncle Sam says
When Charlie Crist was Governor I sure don’t remember him being divisive, costing tax payers money for bills he wanted passed, traveling the country to stump for his presidency bid while running for Governor, having a personnel agenda, go after the Mouse and Rays, using tax payer money to ship humans to Martha’s Vineyard and on and on…….
Billy C. says
Billy C.
What is undeniable is you and those like you continuing to deny obvious truths. Roberts pointed out items and issues that are real and you chose to call them fantasies? Perhaps you are in a dream-state longing for the good old days when no one metioned bigotry, racism, misoginy because those it effected most had no voice. You guys run to the “you hate America” reply because YOU hate having OTHERS interlope on your fantasy of what America really is. No one taught kids about sex in 1st grade and no one told kids they were racist. But, to not have our children educated to ALL sides of American History is supression of truth and if that is what you want then you sir are both morally deprived and depraved.
Sam Wood says
This article is utterly ridiculous.
James says
To which way did Lee and his horse point on Monument Avenue? I ask this since there is sometimes many more ways to look at and interpret an artists work and intentions.
Was it pointing north or south… or east or west? I googled mapped it… seems to me he was pointing eastward… to the dawn… a new beginning. Not west to the dusk… the ashes and ruins of the past.
Nor does it seem he was heading north in aggression or south in abject defeat.
He seems to be heading to a particular place as well, not a battlefield, but a university. One which I gather he might have wanted to eventually serve ALL the population of the South, not just the privileged few of a certain class or race.
I’ve also read somewhere that he didn’t want a monument to his memory, and perhaps he was ultimately right in this… but as I think on this more, perhaps it’s all in how you look at it. Never been to Monument Avenue, probably never will go there… whether or not Lee’s statue belongs there was for those folks that live there to decide (all of them, black and white)… all I can say is I don’t think his statue belonged on so high a pedestal.
Just this particular northern honky’s opinion.
LeRoy M. Graham MD, FCCP says
As. a retired African American physician who has recently settled here in Florida, I feel the concerns expressed in this article are appropriate. Racism disguised as nationalism or preservation of culture is still racism. Politicians have always appealed to whatever way the wind blows if it moves them toward the retention of power. Recounting history is not some ploy by the so called liberal establishment. It is in honestly looking at our past so that we learn to build a better future in so very many contexts. In the late 70s when I attended Georgetown University School of Medicine, I heard all the concerns about the dangers of affirmative action right up until graduation when I finished near the top of my class. I took an Army scholarship to pay my way through medical school and served as a Brigade Surgeon with the 1rst Infantry Division in Desert Storm. In the Army, I saw the true value of integration at all ranks and as the division flawlessly executed the breech into Iraq and the decimation of the vaunted Republican Guard. As a pediatric pulmonary and critical care physician, I saw the hate, suspicion and concern disappear from many parents as I provided the best care for their sick children. This country elected Barack Obama not once but twice and he served with distinction. His victories could not have come from voting purely along racial lines. African Americans and other minorities serve with distinction in almost every occupation in our country. This is only possible because of integration and equal opportunity. Sadly, we have become jaded and politicians are able to pander to our lesser tendencies of hate, discord and bias in advancing the false narrative that minorities are now somehow given an unfair advantage and thereby the majority race is somehow threatened. We tout our country as being rooted in faith yet we ignore the simple admonition of Our Lord and Savior to treat each other with respect and dignity following His Word and Teaching as he walked this earth long ago. We fall prey to the perverse notion that to feel good about ourselves we must devalue those that are different from us. We are too often lead as we are in the present context by those political leaders who skillfully appeal to our xenophobic tendencies when the true exceptionalism of our great country lies in the diversity of our populace and the desire to offer equal opportunity to all of our citizens regardless of their ethnicity. This is what make this democratic republic the envy of the rest of the world. We can not and indeed must not lose sight of this distinction due to the maneuvering of opportunistic politicians.
Marlee says
Hey…he was our neighbor for at least 3 years….(Lakeside/Palm Coast)
He was arrogant and never kept up his property under the HOA guidelines.
He acted like he was better than everyone else….even the Republicans here were turned off with him.
He NEVER said hello or even nodded while jogging by.
He needs to be replaced…!
j says
What I See, in all her articles, Is that she has her own problem with racism in her own heart. SO she projects it in her work.
Don't buy the bs- just DO IT says
As a Latino here in the great state of Florida I can honestly say I have never faced racism. I have been able to work and not just survive but very strongly thrive with HARD WORK. As far as voting I have literally never had one single issue. I would expect to show ID as I have to show ID with almost everything done(boarding a plane,getting a drivers license,purchasing liquor etc). I have been able with hard work to have my wifes wishes of being a stay at home mom until the kids are part way through elementry school,pay off my mortgage very early,save for my kids college tuitions and my retirement,have my playtoys such as a boat and several motorcycles and have money stacked away for emergencies in savings. As a non-white Latino of Puerto Rican heritage I would be led to believe that all this is not possible in this state by reading this article which is obviously not true. Florida has been a great state for my family and myself and I vote with no affiliation to any party.
Greg says
Really ? DeSantis and Florida is so bad? Let’s see where can I live’ California, New York, Oregon, Washington, I think I hear crickets from all the lefties.
Bartholomew says
Wait, 90% at the tur of the century???? My BS. sensor is going off. I would like to see that source and data. Please prove me wrong.
Bartholomew says
Just a suggestion, when you say something like “…woke…” It makes it hard to take your post seriously because those word makes me think you are radical even if it s not true.
Bartholomew says
As a republican, I am against our governor too. His actions speak so much more loudly than his words.
Laurel says
Both my husband and I were born and raised in Florida, and both are in our 70’s. Both of us were not raised in bigoted, holier than thou households, thank goodness. I remember as a child, going to the Royal Castle in Dania while young, black men were trying to sit at the counter and order hamburgers. The whole restaurant was packed with people yelling obscenities at them. I could not figure why; it seems so bizarre to me. I remember seeing Imperial Wizard papers on lawns of some homes, and my girlfriend and I picked one up and read it. It was full of such ignorant lies, and again, we could not understand why. This hatred was on the news, with crowds condemning children trying to go to school.
People were pretending that gay people did not exist. Come on, Liberace was the biggest flamer ever yet his fans were many and *oblivious* to the obvious. Gay people married straight people in order to “fit in.” What a tragedy for both partners. So much suffering, and death, because of people believing to be superior to them.
Poor Jesus, I feel ya.
What has happened here, is bigoted DeSantis and his ilk, along with better weather, have brought the like minded people to our state in droves. So, now we have the most backward state in the Union. I thought all that garbage was behind us. No, now we again have to put up with the holier than thou, backwards, prejudiced bullshit that should have been buried long ago.
Instead of telling us natives “if you don’t like it, leave” how about you take your bassakwards bullshit back to where you came from, because we evolved until you showed up.
Bartholomew says
Those things were not taught in school. It is just something to make those who do not know shocked and angry. They are using this against us. They are not for the people, both parties are for themselves. Americans need to speak up about how we want this country is run. Just think about the amount of money America spends on elections what a waste and why are these people so eager to get those jobs…… I imagine they are profiting from it some way
Bobby Howard says
I don’t understand why people are still so racist, you whites have always been privileged and you think that’s what you deserve merely because of your skin color, you’re born privileged and you have no empathy for people that are suffering because they don’t look like you
Bobby Howard says
Exactly, that’s the only way people of color will experience anything that will help their community, is to vote someone in office that cares about all people regardless of their skin color; these career politicians like Mitch McConnell, who has been in office for over 37 years and has done nothing for his poor state but he himself is very wealthy, he get on the house floor and spew out obstructing rhetoric that does no good for anyone, for instance, dismantling social security which has nothing to do with the deficit or government budget whatsoever because people pay into that system; Ronald Reagan clarified that in the 80’s
Patriotson says
Nothing like “woke” political liberal radicals telling the Florida voters how wrong they are in supporting DeSantes and Florida becoming the place where woke comes to die. FLAGLER THE MOST LIBERAL SOCIALIST DEMOCRAT EPIC CENTER IN THE STATE. suggest that you are a minority in this state politically and there is no social redeeming value in this article.
Justsayin says
You can thank Barrack Obama for the race issues of today. NO president divided this country as much as him. I am old enough to remember his 2009 “Beer Summit” when he accused the white police officer of arresting a black Harvard professor because of his race. Then the Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida by a “white Hispanic” to the now proven false “Hands up, don’t shoot” Michael Brown shooting in Missouri. Five police officers in Dallas where gunned downed in 2016. Why, the shooter stated he wanted to kill as many white police officers as he could.
Please show me the proof that Ron Desantis has done the same damage Barrack caused during his eight years. I do not see it.
Tangodownj says
Thank God for Governor Ron DeSantis!
Steve says
Keep your mainstream Righteous Hypocritical Religion to yourself and out of Politics. It is pathetic that you believe because I don’t agree with you about YOUR God I am a heretic. Believe what you want leave me out of it. Besides it’s none of your damn business
YouMeanRacistState says
So in other words a racist state full of hate for anyone that isn’t a cis-het white evangelical. Newsflash – what is happening here is not in the best interest of people or children. No one give a crap about your kid. You’re it’s parent be one to your kid and stop policing how I parent mine. Okay? Okay.
The only grooming done happens in churches and in Republican households full of hate. If you think Jesus said kill your neighbor because they are blank, yellow, LGBTQ, an immigrant, Jewish, and so on, you’re sadly mistaken. The lone Bible verse you cherry pick to satisfy your vengeance but yet you ignore literally everything else the Bible says. Look. I could give two flying who-ha’s what religion you practice, if you even do at all, what color your skin is or who you love and how you see yourself.
I’m not religious. Far from it. But I do believe very much in treating people with kindness and compassion and staying out of people’s lives. Who am I to judge? Huh? It’s not my place. Here’s something for you. How many drag queens have every been arrested for molesting a kid? ZERO. Now let’s do Republican’s and Churches…you cannot claim to be a moral authority when you’re the opposite. You cannot claim to be a patriot when you’d take a dump on what makes this country great – immigration, diversity, the freedom to be whoever you are, good person or d0uchebag.
Speaking of immigration. There is not a single Caucasian person that can say they lay claim to this land. We stole it. Our ancestors ALL immigrated. We ALL are the children of immigrants. I tell you now, if any of you think you’re not, you’re delusional. My family is from Hungary, Austria, Germany, the Middle East, England, France, Norway, Italy, and Romania. My blood is not American. I was born here, sure, but I’m a mixed immigrant and proud of it. Maybe you’re all just ashamed of who you are and that’s why you have to project your hate, your misery, and your unhappiness on people that enjoy who they are and where they’re from. I’d feel sorry for you but I don’t. I honestly don’t care.
Another thing – liberals can fight, LGBTQ can fight and every minority can fight – push us too far and you’ll get your Civil War. Guess what? You’ll lose – again!
Brandon says
Sorry for your loss
Brandon says
I SO AGREE!!!
I left this site some time ago because of the So Left “Commentary.”
I signed back in because the news aspect of the site does well.
I am trying not to be pulled back into the Political Realm… yet I am only human and will probably be pulled back in.
Brandon says
Better Yet, as Governor… What has not done for us?
Tom says
I voted for DeSantis so by your assertions I’m a racist. Well, you’re dead wrong. It’s insulting and disgusting for you to infer 11 million+ Floridians are racist… you said vast majority.
You, not the Republicans, are the problem. You, not the Republicans, are flaming the fans of racism.
DeSantis does more good for the State of a Florida in a day than you will do in your lifetime.
If you truly believe 11 million Floridians are racist, with the most respect, you need to seek professional help.
Ray W. says
Thank you, Dr. Graham.
Walter P says
Stop drinking the Kool-Aid and discover the real truth.
Sheila Zinkerman says
My father moved my pregnant mother and his 8 kids from Connecticut to segregated Ormond Beach Florida in 1955. Nova Road was called Canal Street. The eating establishments and honky-tonk bars running north and south were dotted with “whites only” and “no colored” signs. As an under-aged teen, I worked for cash at one of them. It didn’t have a sign but the white owner was a racist. A black customer came in one day and sat at the counter. I took his order. The owner called me in the back and said “make it to-go.” I said “he didn’t ask for it to-go”; “make it to-go”; I said “no.” He put the order in a brown paper bag, handed it to the customer and fired me. Today I see brown paper to-go bags everywhere, resegregating our schools with public money through voucher schemes, suppressing black votes through gerrymandering, silencing black and marginalized voices by banning their books, and white-washing black history. I’ll let Nina tell you their story. It hasn’t changed much. Stop brown-bagging it.
https://youtu.be/ghhaREDM3X8
Aj says
90% said they were spiritual and God fearing. The trail of tears, lynching my people, burning them, bombing them, redlining, that is God fearing? They lied and they are still lying. What god did they fear. For years the white man have committed demonic deeds in the name of God fearing. You need to carry your crap some other place i don’t believe none of those demonic lies. I was white blinded for years no more. White peoples are perhaps the biggest lying demonic beasts on this earth. I’m going to end before I start cursing, that isn’t good. God fearing yeah right.
The Truth says
Says the guy who is using a name made up for our current president because Trumpsters couldn’t grasp that their head Cheeto was defeated so badly in 2020 and will be again in 2024.
The Truth says
Let me guess, you primary national news source is Fox News? Do you complain about the “political bias” when watching Fox News?
Aj says
Go back where you came from. A lot of whites people love to say that but they need to follow that statement and go to where they came from. The Indians should tell all white people that. The white mane murdered and stole the land from the Indians. Lying historians said Christopher Columbus discovered America. How can you discover a land that is populated with people. Again white lies promoting the white society. The Indians were here first if my history is correct. Joanne perhaps you and other whites need to go back to Europe.
Deborah Coffey says
Better buy a mirror, Bill. You’ve got this backwards. Most of us “Leftists” ARE white and I don’t know where you get your news, but you haven’t seen all the attacks on Asians and Jews by the quite considerable number of Nazis on the right wing in America? The Republican Party is now acting out in the most racist and bigoted ways than it has done in decades. What your party is trying to institutionalize is pure Fascism. And, it’s obvious to the majority of Americans. Our country has been here before, and we sent the Fascists back under their rocks but, Donald Trump being one of them, allowed them to crawl back out once again. In the end, they will all lose.
Steve says
Well done Best Post ever. Enjoy Retirement Sir
Steve says
Doughsantis doesn’t translate well outside of the State IMO
Aj says
So true. They have everything and always trying to stop people of color from advancing at all cost.
Skibum says
Norman, it is interesting that you invoke the bible in your comment about the path you believe the government is moving in, and seem to think that there is some correlation between effective government for its citizens and their level of religious belief. I am a Christian, have grown up in the church, and both of my parents are ordained ministers. Yet, we have had more than enough discussions/arguments/disagreements over the decades about their far right beliefs, and my more moderate and progressive beliefs. I do believe both of my parents would have been happy with political candidates that wanted to govern by the edict of God, the same way a failed former governor candidate from my previous home state of WA campaigned on… she lost in a landslide! I believe one’s religious beliefs should remain personal and not imposed on others, and that personal religious beliefs have no business being inserted into local, state or federal laws. The freedom of religion also means freedom FROM religion if that is what someone wants, and it is nobody’s business what or how a person chooses to worship, or not. What the far right republicans, including DeSantis have been doing is pure discrimination and trying to force their religious beliefs on everyone in society, and that is absolutely wrong and must be fought. Otherwise, America will just be another Taliban or religious centric society where the religious police have the ultimate power and say so over every individual’s lives, and we cannot ever let that happen here in America.
Aj says
He is the worst.
Nephew of Uncle Sam says
“FLAGLER THE MOST LIBERAL SOCIALIST DEMOCRAT EPIC CENTER IN THE STATE.” ???
I’ll just keep scratching my head on that statement.
Aj says
Are your numbers true? You say Blacks commit most of the crimes in this country, I don’t believe that when there is more whites in the country than blacks. Are those numbers white media publish and white people love. I suppose whites commit most crimes that is not reported, white media white police force white judges, o I see the picture. White do wrong and it will not be reported. The American white society, minimize white wrong doing and magnify black wrong doing. The white American way.
James says
This northern honky continues to ponder in his ivory tower… what do I really know of Lee? Other than what I’ve googled and recently read on wikipedia?
For that matter… what do I know of Grant? I only lived in NYC (Brooklyn) for a good part of my life… his tomb being only a subway ride away… one which had languished for many years from neglect.
Well, for better or worse the situation is now what it is… so I continue to look at and ponder (the pictures of) Lee’s statue atop its plinth (this one statue on Monument Avenue… the others that were removed are irrelevant, in my opinion to my struggle at understanding). Again, the the height of the plinth calls to me. I look at it and try to contemplate its true height… meh. I again look at the figure of Lee from the angles provided… eh, yeah. He carries no flag, his sword is in its scabbard… and he sits atop his horse. His horse?
He sits atop his horse? No, he does not… technically, that’s not his horse… that is another, as noted in the wikipedia article regarding this statue. And then it came to me… I’d seen enough old “Gunsmoke” episodes to realize BOTH sides have reason to be happy this statue is gone. For what did they think of a man in 1890 who road a horse that didn’t belong to him? And on a high plinth no less. I read in those articles he was many things… but… then again, move back across the street. Go back farther… depends how far back you wanna go. :-)
Yup, all depends on how you look at it and from where, doesn’t it? :-)
Again, whether his statue belongs there or not wasn’t for me to decide… but again, anyway I might look at it, the plinth was too high in my opinion.
Now what of this new statue I happened upon as a consequence of all this…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_and_Freedom_Monument
Perhaps the historical notes are in the right place… ground level (to be readable)… but the central figure stands on a plinth that should be at least as tall as Lee’s plinth was in my opinion. And for that matter, why is it tucked away on an island?
I’ll leave it there for now… just something to think about in my opinion.
Aj says
You are Latino. The Latino color isn’t much darker than whiteish. Glad you didn’t experience hatred from whitey. Just because you had it so good doesn’t mean otter people of color had it so great. Were your people hung? Were they raped, burnt, bombed, lied on, denied, ignored, spit on, decapitated, redlined? This bs as you call it is true. My people went through it, just because you didn’t dosent mean it didn’t happen. All this hatred toward us is from the white man. Please study before you call it bs.
Aj says
You can thank the racist history. Don’t forget Trump. You sound white and uneducated about what white people have put people of color through. Please study history and see who is responsible for hatred and demonic murderous destruction. The lying white man.
Skibum says
Sock it to ’em, Laurel! I absolutely agree with your comments.
Deborah Coffey says
He did not protect Floridians from a deadly pandemic; he got them killed instead, including kids.
He has not fixed the house insurance industry.
He has not built up public education; he’s destroying it.
He has not ensured that Florida has enough nurses.
He has not united the people of the state; he’s pitted them one against the other.
He’s done nothing to protect the state from climate change! Nothing.
He’s done nothing about gun deaths in Florida.
He has not allowed businesses to conduct their business freely according to THEIR beliefs!
He has NEVER told the truth…about anything.
Tom Oelsner says
Just out of curiosity, is it safer to have the racists, QAnon wackos, and others of that ilk staying under rocks where they can continue with their BS and do really great harm, or is it better to have them in the open where they can be identified and fought?
Laurel says
LMG: Well said, and thank you. Welcome to Florida! :)
I remember driving towards Indian Town, down a dark little road. The road forked off, with a tree in the middle of the fork. On the tree was a sign with a white dot and arrow pointing in one direction, and a black dot and arrow pointing in another direction. I never want to see anything like that again in our beautiful state. And yes, I cannot believe that people are touting this hate in the name of Jesus. I’m not a Christian, but I think I have more respect for what he said than that. I thought his purpose was love and acceptance. I will continue to believe that but have no desire for organized religion, which seems to need the pecking order same as any other group.
Laurel says
Bill: I think you got it backwards.
liberal
lĭb′ər-əl, lĭb′rəl
adjective
Favoring reform, open to new ideas, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; not bound by traditional thinking; broad-minded.
synonym: broad-minded.Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism.
Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
Laurel says
Ed Jones: Yes, she would fit in with intelligent, strong women. If that’s not your thing, change the channel.
Laurel says
Dennis: Most of the people here where NOT here when Crist was governor. They don’t have a clue about him.
paul says
You claim Barack Obama divided America, yet to me, as a recent white immigrant from Europe, he seemed like the most tolerant and costructive of recent presidents. He restore the economy after the Bush era recession and his policies appeared to herald a new inclusive age.
What was horrifying about the Obama years was the open and ever increasing hatred spewed by the mostly white extreme right who couldn’t stand that a black person had been elected president.
American racism was confirmed by the election of Donald Trump who had, amplified by right wing media, echoed anti Obama hate speech en-route to the White House. Trump was the epitomy of divisiveness yet his anti minority, anti immirant policies set the stage for the rise of right wing activism, the ‘dive back to Dixie’ and Ron DeSantis a.k.a. ‘Trump with a Brain’.
Ron’s re election was achieved by his embrace of white Christian nationalism along with his science denying Covid and environmental policies clad in the mantra of ‘Freedom’.
His anti immigrant stance and more than a nod in favor of conspiracy theories are all part of gathering support for his presidential run and sadly Florida voters seem to have lapped it up. though the win was without doubt aided by clever groundwork. His manipulation of illegal redistricting, his voter suppression and intimidation was aided by a disorganized and underfunded Democratic mid term campaign by the Florida Democratic Party, while the DNC seems to have abandoned Florida..
Laurel says
Tom: DeSantis is trying to punish Mickey Mouse and company for standing up to those who did not cave to the people who disparage gay children and adults. He is nasty to legal aliens. He wants to shove his religion down the throats of all. He is retaliatory. He’s a dangerous, narrow-minded jerk who got in on Trump’s coattails, and will dump him when no longer needed.
SALLY BELL says
Excellent presentation dr. Graham!! Your words speak the truth!!!! I have no concept of the republican agenda – but as has been said – the only way the republican sort can win is to lie, cheat or control power!!! Desantis and republicans are destroying florida!!!!
Laurel says
Justsayin: Obama had nothing to do with what you just wrote. Black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. (you know, the guy who now hosts PBS show “Finding Your Roots) was arrested trying to unlock the door of his own home. Why do you figure? Unarmed Trayvon Martin was minding his own business, going to a relative’s house, when Zimmerman confronted him and killed him because he claimed he was tired of guys like him coming into his neighborhood.
Your twisting of reality needs no further consideration.
Resident says
Floridian here, fifth generation. You like to bring up unequalities, but it was the same everywhere in the states at that time. Have friends from upstate New York who tell me it was the same there. Old Florida was a beautiful thing, beautiful farm land, beaches, orange groves and oak trees. I love people from everywhere, but I sure wish Florida had stayed the same.
It’s a shame you choose to keep posting editorials of your own opinions and not real journalism which keeps opinions out of the equation.
Everyone has a choice. Love Florida or leave it.
Clarion Call says
People love Florida, until they live here. Having said that, the state has become more conservative, due to migration from other states.
Florida’s economic blood is old folks seeking paradise in retirement. To make that fantasy as real as possible you need cheap local labor. That’s becoming a problem everywhere in America but if folks can leave after high school, and work in a state that has better jobs, maybe even unions, they will leave. No workers means no healthcare, no tradesmen, no teachers (or childcare), no service industry.
You may have already noticed that the needed workers are not here to support the aging population. That’s sad, but it’s reality and it will continue to worsen.
I mention the economics of this because being openly hostile as a state to young people and their belief systems will eventually play out, and not in a beneficial way.
BigPapa says
Unfortunately People like Ms. Roberts have diminished the meaning of the word racist, they love to throw the word around everytime they do not agree with someone. ———
BTW, what did she mean by writing, “laws like “Stand Your Ground” allow us to kill or incarcerate a disproportionate number of Black people”. What exactly is she trying to say here? Ms. Roberts you should look in the mirror my friend, that there is a pretty racist statement.
David Schaefer says
Just remember people there is more right wing white nut jobs here than anywhere else in the country. DeathSantis and Trumpy boy have spread the flames to every county in this state. It’s getting worse by the day we need help folks……….
Jim Morrison says
So the author believes fl “stand your ground law is racist because it kills an disaportianate number of blacks”. Funny. Whe. Somebody breaks into my house I will protect my family regard of race, sea or religion. I’m sure most do the same. Give me a break you woke witch.
starryid says
Got s couple hours?? I’m a woman and I’m fine with his “limiting”!
Old Guy says
Well said.
Pierre Tristam says
Resident, this is an opinion column. Opinion columns are a tradition of American journalism: one of the Amendments to the Constitution protects them. As you say: everyone has a choice: read them or leave them be.
Deborah Coffey says
If you vote for a racist to lead your state, you’re not a racist? Maybe some professional help could explain the difference, then, of just being plain stupid or being plain racist.
Deborah Coffey says
You go, girl! Tell it to ’em straight!
Aj says
I wasn’t born here. Was born in Savannah Ga. Remember going to the dr. and saw colored only. After moving to Fla. some old timers told me a Black person was not allowed on the beach after dark unless they were working. A black person wasn’t allowed to be there for relaxation like the white people. The thing is the white man didn’t make the beach, why keep other people from enjoying the beach. The nerve of them, thank God for Bethune Beach. Daytona wasn’t good for people of color.
Laurel says
Aj: You are probably the most bigoted person on this site. I’ve been around a long time, and I’ve never done, or said, any of the things you attribute to “whitey.” I have also never been quite as “privileged” as you would assign me. I made less money than my male counterparts, had less promotions and never had a mentor, yet I graduated from college with a 4.0 average, all paid for by me, while paying for my apartment, food, insurance, car, gas, etc., because there was no affirmative action for white women. I went through all the possible grants for my gender and color, and there were none. Nobody paid my way. Not a damned dime.
No matter what you may think about “whitey” v. *your people,* you are talking about history. You have no idea what each person on this planet suffers; you have not cornered the market. The fact of the matter is, humans have been nasty and cruel all though history, and will continue to be so. You need to focus on the fact that you are alive and well, stop worrying about “whitey” and move on.
Now, back to DeSanti: He’s a dangerous jerk.
Laurel says
Skibum: I’m glad we are on the same page again! :)
Laurel says
Paul: Nailed it!
James says
Hey Jim, if anyone here has a right to have an opinion on matters concerning Florida she does… she’s an 8th generation Floridian.
By the way, I hadn’t realized it. But that perhaps would imply that her family has lived here possibly somewhere around 250 years!?! Think about it.
B section says
Ron Desantis is a fascist. Look up what fascism is.
They create scarecrows out of ideas like intelligence and decency to rile up scumbags and racists.
You know something is wrong when they are rallying against critical thinking(CRT).
Simply put, they are scum and horrible people who don’t understand decency. Sorry, not sorry.
B section says
It’s not a radical to be a decent compassionate human being.
News flash for repukelikkkons
B section says
The scary part is, right wing fascism was already defeated by America in WW2. How did we get back here?
Dude says
No, in a republic the people elect the representatives. But the representatives have no responsibility to vote the will of the people. That’s why we have elections to vote out people like Desantis, eventually.
You’d think repukes would know what a republic is, but generally speaking knowledge isn’t their forte.
Suzett says
Norman is clearly from the 50’s.
And he doesn’t even understand that we are Pro- Capitalism . No one is for Socialism.
Pick up a book now and then.
Make America Smart Again
feddy65 says
I hope you are not talking about the View crew? If that is what you are talking about then you lost all credibility on any of your post.
JimBob says
Didn’t you give this same speech earlier at a School Board meeting? Remember: “Don’t Say Gay!”
LJ says
I’m still stuck on the fact he can’t spell his Lord and Savior’s last name! 😂
LJ says
You, lady, are part of the problem! The BS spilling out of your mouth is reprehensible…