What is your progressive definition of "woke?" And, Florida hell under DeSantis
Ron DeSantis must be stopped from becoming President of the United States
I have a lot on my mind today so will squeeze two ideas into one post. First, a quick hit: This week, “anti-woke” author Bethany Mendel went viral for struggling to define “woke” despite having written a book (chapter?) about it!
I encourage you to think of your simple definition of “woke,” which actually has century-old origins in Black liberation. If asked on cable TV I would say, “Authoritarians want us to stay asleep so they can exploit us. We refuse. We will stay awake to resist them—for ourselves and our fellow citizens.”
This brings me to my related second point. Today I heard Floridians lamenting how much of a hell Governor Ron DeSantis has made of their state. He must be stopped from becoming President. He is already creating national problems with school textbook censorship, because Florida, Texas and California are such big markets that they drive how textbooks are written and cover issues such as civil rights, all of African-American history, and more. If DeSantis became President, he would bring this hell to all 50 states.
Here is an incomplete list of current, awful headlines from Florida:
Florida’s proposed 6-week abortion ban moves forward [WESH2 news]
Trans youth in Florida can no longer start gender-affirming care, pushing families toward difficult decisions [the19thNews]
New bill that would protect Confederate monuments in Jacksonville sparks debate [FirstCoast News]
Black voters in Florida express fear, confusion as DeSantis election laws kick in [WaPo]
Gov. DeSantis calls COVID a 'woke virus' [WEAR News] // Tell that to the families of the 86,850 Floridians who died of COVID. 1 in 247 residents of the state died the virus.
Florida Book Bans Are No Hoax: Here Are The Facts [PEN America]
Gov. DeSantis’ conservative takeover of a liberal arts college could silence diversity, critics say [CNN]
Mass. College Welcomes Transfers From Florida School After DeSantis Takeover [10Boston]
Florida Republican's Bill Would Ban Young Girls From Discussing Their Periods In School [HuffPost]
Federal appeals court leaves DeSantis’ anti-’woke’ law blocked in Florida public colleges [CNN]
DeSantis Promises Florida Will Control Disney’s Content: Right-wing board to clamp down on “woke ideology” in cartoons. [New York Magazine Intelligencer]
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DeSantis must be stopped from gaining power. He is NOT any sort of acceptable or milder Republican to lead us back to normalcy, an idea that is unfortunately being socialized in too many mainstrem media sources. See for example: DeSantis would pave the way for a post-Trump GOP return to normal [WaPo Op-Ed]
And we can’t count on this: Ron DeSantis Eating Pudding With His Fingers Will End His 2024 Bid. [Intelligencer] [original scoop from The Daily Beast]
With news like this, it’s hard to sleep even if I try. Stay woke, friends.