The state of Florida is going to teach its middle schoolers that some enslaved Blacks benefitted from slavery because the slaves learned important vocational skills. The new African American history standards were approved by the Florida State Board of Education yesterday.
I love and appreciate your optimism when you can find it, as you did so well here. I will just never understand how Fla went for DeSantis in a second round for Governor in such big numbers. How? How…
I have lived in Fl for 20 years, and have raised my 2 son's here. Both of whom are going to/graduating from FSU, in Tallahassee. Prior to 2016 (and 2020-Covid), Fl was a fairly moderate state. If I remember correctly, Fl voted for Obama twice. Then went for Trump, and we started to slide downhill from there. DeSantis, in his first term, was actually a fairly moderate Governor, which explains why he easily won a second term. By 20 points - I genuinely can't explain that one. It really tells me that we no longer have a viable Democratic party here. They have allowed Republicans to set the narrative regarding Socialism, which scares the crap out of our Venezuelan (sp?) and Cuban population, instead of equally aggressively dispelling the Socialism misinformation and, at the same time, vociferiously explaining the very real threat of Fascism/Nazism that the Republican party has become.
It is horrifying to wonder was I living among racist, bigoted people all these years and never knew it? Did they hide their true nature that well, and for so long? The magnitude of this is staggering. Florida now has over 9000 teacher vacancies - and we led the nation last year with 8000. Lovely. I really don't know what happened to DeSantis. He became something radically different than what he was in his first term. On the other hand, it is no secret here that Rubio and Scott genuinely hate him. Maybe they already knew and just didn't share it with the general Florida population.
Like most states (including my own Missouri), it kind of depends on what part of the state you live in. But my heart aches for Florida, where my family happily vacationed for several weeks every summer while my kids were growing up. Destin, Jupiter, Orlando, Sanibel, Ft. Myers. My wife and I even talked about a retirement home there at one time. But I won’t ever be back. Partisan politics have wreaked havoc in Florida and climate change will ultimately destroy it.
Do you know if the increase in the Hispanic population may have played a role in the increase in repugnicant numbers? I can't figure out why Hispanics are going for repugnicants other than the fact that they are mostly Catholic, and the pugs are the anti-abortion population. [My other, perhaps more far-fetched, thought was: could this be a case of "I've got mine, so you go away" -- re wanting to limit immigration??? Seems crazy, but I am just trying to figure out something that seems so peculiar to me.]
I can only offer my opinion here, based on my observations. The Republican party, quite masterfully, actively went into the Hispanic communities - Cuban, Venezulan, Mexican - that used to be in the Democratic camp, and gave false and misleading information, claiming that we are the party of Socialists/Communists. Considering they all immigrated here to escape just that, it understandably filled them with fear, and by 2014, the solid Blue counties began voting Red. Unfortunately, I really believe the Democratic party took their votes for granted and never went into those communities to set the record straight. Nor did they bother to refute the claims, and provide concrete evidence as to how the R party was more the party of Authoritarianism/Fascism and would never govern in a way that would benefit them.
My husband and I will be moving from here in 2 years. I do not expect to see my kids settle anywhere in Fl, they are smart enough to see the cruel shift in attitudes/beliefs and really want no part of it. It is genuinely sad - this was a great place to raise kids. No more.
According to Pew, the Catholic share of American Hispanics dropped 12 percent in the last four years. Most American Protestant Hispanics are Evangelicals. That could contribute to anti-Democratic Party fervor in this community.
I also live in Florida and we still are a moderate state despite the alt right currently governing us here. About 1.3 million Democrats sat out the election for governor which is about the margin of victory DeSantis won by. Black voter turnout was at 40 percent compared to 62 percent in the previous election. In short, we get what we don't vote for. Good news is and to Steve's point DeSantis political future is close to coming to an end. He will go the same route to oblivion as Sarah Palin. Palin who?
These authoritarian stars have been aligning for 40 years..... The Republican Party has lied and schemed their way into power while appearing as moderate republicans as the decades called for. The “tea party” could not win anything in the 80’s - now they have all the power. With the election of Trump, this was the time for them to shine and come out as the authoritarian government they were all rooting for. I know because I lived it as a former conservative republican and evangelical Christian. After reading a book in the 90’s entitled How To Be Christian Without Being Religious, I began to see the cracks with the evangelical movement and ultimately left the church.
There are many factors that have contributed to the situation we're in. I think one of them is a huge messaging gap. The GOP (now basically a fascist cult of personality) is very good at it and the DEMS need to improve significantly. This is at all levels, from the National to the local.
The Dems have almost always sucked at messaging and when all is said and done & we lose, we look around and say “what happened!?!?” It’s the Dem leadership that needs to grow a pair…….BIG TIME & NOW!!!!!!
I couldn’t agree more. Messaging is key and the Dems need to get better at it right NOW. The Dems also need to toughen up. They’re allowed to bite back, just doesn’t have to be in the vicious, hateful way of the Repugs. Biden needs strong, powerful surrogates who are going to carry the messaging far and wide. Young mid, and of a certain age, carrying the messages and repeating them over and over and over again. Use the former guy’s methods and flip the narrative.
How? The anti-woke message is very popular, and not only in Florida. There are many traditionally-minded folks out there in this wonderful America Steve talks about. As long as the DEMS are seen primarily as the party of woke, we're in trouble. "It's the economy, stupid." Biden is trying to get his economic message out, but it's hard amongst all the noise. Fortunately, MTG just helped him.
Being “woke” is a good thing - seeking the truth and staying informed. And while I agree that there are a good number of conservative minded good people in this country, the problem with dems is not being “woke”. It is because they openly disdain those who cling to the misinformation and lies despite mountains of evidence otherwise; and they think they have this fight in the bag because they are on the side of truth and certainly the disbelievers will come around before it’s too late. As “woke” dems, independents, or former republicans, we are in the fight of our life and should not be complacent. It helps me to look at the GOP as a cult and the only truth that matters is what comes out of Trump or his supporters mouths...... It will be very difficult to reach them, but not impossible.
I tried twice to live in FL, I love warm weather. But! I couldn't handle it. I still have friends who live there, none of whom have children in school. The notion of liberation for women there (back in the '70's) was having a husband who helped in the house, i.e. washing dishes or changing a diaper on occasion. The racism was broadcasted freely. Whites hated the Cuban refugees, even tho' these refugees were the best educated and wealthiest of Cubans. The Cubans hated the Blacks and PuertoRicans. The contrast between the "haves" and the "have nots" was glaring, the lines rigidly drawn between the neighborhoods. I know there are other states with these same issues, but I did not try to live with these circumstances anywhere else. It was too painful to unable to find friends I could speak with in a frank manner. I felt stifled.
Hopefully Desantis is just an image in the rear view mirror. I’m embarrassed by the heads of the (mis) Education Dept of Florida. It’s despicable how they want Slavery and other horrid acts against black Americans.
Enjoy the ride with your son, and get to the Dakotas. Safe travels and good for you by showing your son the true beauty of the United States.
I've bicycled across both Dakotas twice on cross country rides.
My family Iives in South Dakota. The people who live there are some of most welcoming, down to earth folks I've met anywhere. Stop and chat at small town diners and restaurants. You'll be welcomed warmly.
I've lived in this state almost 24 years and this is the worst it's ever been. My kids graduated here in 2005 & 2008. I thought public education was lacking then but it's only gotten worse. What people need to realize is outside of the largest cities & those with universities, this state is the bloodiest of blood red & excruciatingly stupid. DeSantis, Scott, Rubio, Gaetz etc are a VERY real representation of this state. I'm not kidding. It's like living in a parallel universe and that was never more apparent then when COVID-19 hit in early 2020. The crazy was unleashed. It's frightening. Pinellas used to be borderline sensible & then it elected Ana Paulina Luna(tic). Once my husband retires in a few years, we've got decisions to make.
I know there are Democrats around here, I met them while working on both Obama campaigns...we're just all quiet now. The batshitcrazies are just too unpredictable & no one wants to deal with that. I get really mouthy about it sometimes & my poor husband begs me to dial it back. Too many nuts with too many guns here now.
The scary part is how many Americans actually agree with DeSantis. Republicans turned over a rock and this is what slithered out. They have been here all along and now Republicans have given them permission to act out. How many Americans are part of a great country and how many are just fascists? The Civil War never ended.
In many minds it has not. I’m in Northern California now, but lived 35 years in Houston. Left 12 years ago. Believe me, the civil war never ended and they deny , still, it was about slavery.
Part of this is the result of not dealing with the first Lost Cause. It was ridiculous. Those southern states which seceded from the US should have been squashed like a bug. Instead, the north demanded concessions for basically a year, then handed it all back to the wealthy plantation owners thinking they had learned their lesson. Shades of Susan Collins. March forward these lo so many years and we learn racism and hatred for anyone not southern born and white was just sown into the fabric of the south by generational ignorance and bitterness.
Teaching children that enslaved people were fortunate to learn valuable skills from their work is like teaching them that the Jews who lived through the Holocaust were fortunate to have been spared from the gas chambers and should be grateful. Why anyone would allow their children to be exposed to that kind of misguided, hate-driven education baffles me. I’m not surprised that someone like Trump lives there, but I wonder how Floridians with progressive values can expose their children to that kind of learning.
It’s classic abuser language, “You should be thankful I take care of you! I’m only beating you because I love you and want you to be a better person. Without me, you’d be nothing, and no one would want you.”
It’s unfortunate that Ron Desantis sat out of the required course as a History major on the plight of Black Americans in the USA from 1619 to the current years because he missed a lot of learning. Don’t tell me the so-called Florida Board of Education doesn’t know about Black History and if they didn’t, there are plenty of historians that could have assisted them. Instead they ‘whitewashed’ any knowledge that they had and showed their ignorance to the subject matter and planed to pass this ‘crap’ on to the student population in Florida. Shame on all of them! The state of Florida is teaching ignorance to the students and Lord knows, we already have enough of that in the general population. Desantis give that degree back to the college that granted it to you because you didn’t earn it based on your current ignorance to the subject matter!
The curriculum standards passed by the Florida Board of Education are appalling. My grandkids are going to be taught this bs. Yes, some enslaved people might have acquired skills but those skills were used for the benefit of their owners, not for the benefit of the enslaved person. This garbage is no different than when I was taught that the Civil War was not about slavery, but about states rights. I have learned so much real history just in the past 15 years.
As a student growing up, I was not taught about the Wilmington coup in 1898 when a white mob went on a murderous rampage, killing black people and removing from office the duly elected city council made up of blacks and whites. Nor did I learn that the governor, for whom my high school was named, promoted that coup and as governor signed legislation disenfranchising black voters. This governor was known as the "Education Governor." During his administration, lots of public schools were built. People are a mixed bag, but I was very disheartened to learn the governor, while a person of his time, actually operated illegally right out in the open. When kids learn the real truth of our history, not the mythology parading as history, they will feel lied to. I did.
FYI--states all have different curriculum standards for the teaching of social studies. Textbook publishers will alter the textbooks according to what the state wants. Students in Texas and California don't learn the same things. Imagine that. 🤪🤪🤪
What a little, evil man DeSantis is. What darkness must be in one’s soul to advocate that slavery had a good purpose. That we pervert the truth for an evil gain. From here there is no political redemption.
Steve, I drove across the continental US twice with my daughter who attended college in Southern California from New Jersey. Just us two... those are the memories which linger forever. She made me a Bruce mix which took us through the Utah desert, the Rockies, and the flat lands of the center of our nation. The trip gave me a deeper appreciation for the diverse nature of its people and their assimilation to their environment. I wish you the same as you provide each other with lasting memories before he ventures into adulthood.
He may not become the President, but I could see him in the Senate at some point. Florida is now a thoroughly red state, with a few blue pockets.
ADDENDUM: For anyone interpreting my statement above as a desire that DeSantis be elected to the Senate, no. Just, no. I want nothing more for him than to fade into complete obscurity.
He represented Florida's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018. Wasn’t that enough? Why would you ever want to see him in the senate. Aren’t there already enough deranged people there and in the house?
Who says that I want to see him anywhere in public life? It's just my take on the current state of politics in Florida and my assessment that he will seek further electoral office once he is done as Governor. I would like nothing more than to see him fade into complete obscurity, but I don't think that that is likely.
I think he will prefer his Florida fiefdom over just being 1 of 100 in the senate. But if he’s voted out of office, then who knows. His wife makes all the decisions on these things. She’s the climber, and probably likes “First Lady” over Senators wife, so it’s difficult to predict.
He’s term limited, thankfully. Unfortunately, unless we end up with a really dynamic Democratic candidate I think it’s likely that we’ll end up with another whacked out Republican for governor.
DeSantis is member of the same group that MTG is in who carry around so much hate, suspicion, and distrust within themselves it consumes them. Making them unable to even see any decency in others. They see all others as a reflection of themselves and since they are full of self loathing, all others must be loathsome too. As you explained in yesterday’s video, the cruelty is the point. The power to inflict pain on others is the only way they feel good about themselves. DeSantis and the others like him - Trump, MTG, Jordan, etc are dangerous to our democratic society and to all of us individually. I hope you are correct in that DeSantis is sliding down the shit heap, but there are many others who need to join him in that slide before we can clean up the mess and get the stench out of our noses.
I envy you Steve, I have crossed the country over a dozen times by car most of which happened before the interstate highway system was completed, 2 or 3 times by train, and countless times by plane where I always get a window seat so that I can see where we are going with memories of what it was like to be driving there. You are absolutely right this is a wonderful land populated by beautiful people, politics aside, which IMHO is the only way to look at them. I have yet to get to Hawaii and Vermont and now I’m not sure that I will manage that, it’s my loss no doubt.
While I’m in RI at the moment I live in GA which is close enough to smell the stench that desatan gives off to the south. I used to love going to FL especially in the winter, not anymore, most of my friends have sold or are planning on selling their homes there, to get the hell out. We have problems in GA with our own governor but he’s relatively sane in comparison to desatan. Now that it’s getting much harder to get insurance there, people might start to wake up to the fact that they have an idiot running the state, but then they put him in office, so who knows. You would think that if people vote for president based on the price of gas, which he has no control over, they might look at their governor and the actual damage he’s done to their state, maybe just a bit askance.
To say negroes benefitted from slavery is like saying the Jews benefitted from Hitler because they now have a Jewish State. It is ludicrous and dangerous when you rewrite history for political reasons or any reason. I am Caucasian but I believe the rewriting of the history of slavery is as disgusting as slavery itself. It is demeaning and offensive and I am ashamed as an American.
Steve, may you and your son enjoy a wonderful road adventure through the awesome terrain of this USA, and thank you for another superb "telling it like it is" essay exposing the cruelty of DeSantis insanity.
I wonder where is the outrage from the citizens and teachers in Florida? I only hear about the stripping of rights and education but never from the Floridians on the news. What are they doing to counter this level of fascism?
It is like taking the torch from the Statue of Liberty and thrown into the ocean. America no longer will carry the idealism that makes it the bearer of liberty. Justifying slavery takes America backward all the way to the beginning. We will be where Putin’s Russia is today. Everything can be crushed and obliterated by the decree of one man, Trump or his imposter DeSantis.
I love and appreciate your optimism when you can find it, as you did so well here. I will just never understand how Fla went for DeSantis in a second round for Governor in such big numbers. How? How…
I have lived in Fl for 20 years, and have raised my 2 son's here. Both of whom are going to/graduating from FSU, in Tallahassee. Prior to 2016 (and 2020-Covid), Fl was a fairly moderate state. If I remember correctly, Fl voted for Obama twice. Then went for Trump, and we started to slide downhill from there. DeSantis, in his first term, was actually a fairly moderate Governor, which explains why he easily won a second term. By 20 points - I genuinely can't explain that one. It really tells me that we no longer have a viable Democratic party here. They have allowed Republicans to set the narrative regarding Socialism, which scares the crap out of our Venezuelan (sp?) and Cuban population, instead of equally aggressively dispelling the Socialism misinformation and, at the same time, vociferiously explaining the very real threat of Fascism/Nazism that the Republican party has become.
It is horrifying to wonder was I living among racist, bigoted people all these years and never knew it? Did they hide their true nature that well, and for so long? The magnitude of this is staggering. Florida now has over 9000 teacher vacancies - and we led the nation last year with 8000. Lovely. I really don't know what happened to DeSantis. He became something radically different than what he was in his first term. On the other hand, it is no secret here that Rubio and Scott genuinely hate him. Maybe they already knew and just didn't share it with the general Florida population.
Like most states (including my own Missouri), it kind of depends on what part of the state you live in. But my heart aches for Florida, where my family happily vacationed for several weeks every summer while my kids were growing up. Destin, Jupiter, Orlando, Sanibel, Ft. Myers. My wife and I even talked about a retirement home there at one time. But I won’t ever be back. Partisan politics have wreaked havoc in Florida and climate change will ultimately destroy it.
Do you know if the increase in the Hispanic population may have played a role in the increase in repugnicant numbers? I can't figure out why Hispanics are going for repugnicants other than the fact that they are mostly Catholic, and the pugs are the anti-abortion population. [My other, perhaps more far-fetched, thought was: could this be a case of "I've got mine, so you go away" -- re wanting to limit immigration??? Seems crazy, but I am just trying to figure out something that seems so peculiar to me.]
I can only offer my opinion here, based on my observations. The Republican party, quite masterfully, actively went into the Hispanic communities - Cuban, Venezulan, Mexican - that used to be in the Democratic camp, and gave false and misleading information, claiming that we are the party of Socialists/Communists. Considering they all immigrated here to escape just that, it understandably filled them with fear, and by 2014, the solid Blue counties began voting Red. Unfortunately, I really believe the Democratic party took their votes for granted and never went into those communities to set the record straight. Nor did they bother to refute the claims, and provide concrete evidence as to how the R party was more the party of Authoritarianism/Fascism and would never govern in a way that would benefit them.
My husband and I will be moving from here in 2 years. I do not expect to see my kids settle anywhere in Fl, they are smart enough to see the cruel shift in attitudes/beliefs and really want no part of it. It is genuinely sad - this was a great place to raise kids. No more.
Dore, Now THAT makes a lot of sense! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge.
Kdsherpa…easy to explain
When the Cubans fled with millions of dollars they came to Florida and own almost all of farm land the entire state and they are ALL RED STATE
REPUBLICANS then came tRump and it got worse and DeSantis is nuts and even
Scares me more than tRump
Hope now you understand it was money the Cubans stole from Cuba as the wealthy escaped long before the poor Cubans!!!
Sick but true! Marsha
Thank you, Marsha. I hate to hear it, but am glad to have an understanding of what's going on. Blessings!
Kdsherpa you have such heartfelt response and Bless You for your
Empathy..you’re a soulmate hugs
And love, Marsha❤️
According to Pew, the Catholic share of American Hispanics dropped 12 percent in the last four years. Most American Protestant Hispanics are Evangelicals. That could contribute to anti-Democratic Party fervor in this community.
Shucks. The "evangelicals" are the bane of the Democrats.
I also live in Florida and we still are a moderate state despite the alt right currently governing us here. About 1.3 million Democrats sat out the election for governor which is about the margin of victory DeSantis won by. Black voter turnout was at 40 percent compared to 62 percent in the previous election. In short, we get what we don't vote for. Good news is and to Steve's point DeSantis political future is close to coming to an end. He will go the same route to oblivion as Sarah Palin. Palin who?
These authoritarian stars have been aligning for 40 years..... The Republican Party has lied and schemed their way into power while appearing as moderate republicans as the decades called for. The “tea party” could not win anything in the 80’s - now they have all the power. With the election of Trump, this was the time for them to shine and come out as the authoritarian government they were all rooting for. I know because I lived it as a former conservative republican and evangelical Christian. After reading a book in the 90’s entitled How To Be Christian Without Being Religious, I began to see the cracks with the evangelical movement and ultimately left the church.
There are many factors that have contributed to the situation we're in. I think one of them is a huge messaging gap. The GOP (now basically a fascist cult of personality) is very good at it and the DEMS need to improve significantly. This is at all levels, from the National to the local.
The Dems have almost always sucked at messaging and when all is said and done & we lose, we look around and say “what happened!?!?” It’s the Dem leadership that needs to grow a pair…….BIG TIME & NOW!!!!!!
I couldn’t agree more. Messaging is key and the Dems need to get better at it right NOW. The Dems also need to toughen up. They’re allowed to bite back, just doesn’t have to be in the vicious, hateful way of the Repugs. Biden needs strong, powerful surrogates who are going to carry the messaging far and wide. Young mid, and of a certain age, carrying the messages and repeating them over and over and over again. Use the former guy’s methods and flip the narrative.
How? The anti-woke message is very popular, and not only in Florida. There are many traditionally-minded folks out there in this wonderful America Steve talks about. As long as the DEMS are seen primarily as the party of woke, we're in trouble. "It's the economy, stupid." Biden is trying to get his economic message out, but it's hard amongst all the noise. Fortunately, MTG just helped him.
Being “woke” is a good thing - seeking the truth and staying informed. And while I agree that there are a good number of conservative minded good people in this country, the problem with dems is not being “woke”. It is because they openly disdain those who cling to the misinformation and lies despite mountains of evidence otherwise; and they think they have this fight in the bag because they are on the side of truth and certainly the disbelievers will come around before it’s too late. As “woke” dems, independents, or former republicans, we are in the fight of our life and should not be complacent. It helps me to look at the GOP as a cult and the only truth that matters is what comes out of Trump or his supporters mouths...... It will be very difficult to reach them, but not impossible.
I tried twice to live in FL, I love warm weather. But! I couldn't handle it. I still have friends who live there, none of whom have children in school. The notion of liberation for women there (back in the '70's) was having a husband who helped in the house, i.e. washing dishes or changing a diaper on occasion. The racism was broadcasted freely. Whites hated the Cuban refugees, even tho' these refugees were the best educated and wealthiest of Cubans. The Cubans hated the Blacks and PuertoRicans. The contrast between the "haves" and the "have nots" was glaring, the lines rigidly drawn between the neighborhoods. I know there are other states with these same issues, but I did not try to live with these circumstances anywhere else. It was too painful to unable to find friends I could speak with in a frank manner. I felt stifled.
I have not done the political science but, generally. FL has gone Red or ruddy except 4 Counties.
Can't say it any better!
Hopefully Desantis is just an image in the rear view mirror. I’m embarrassed by the heads of the (mis) Education Dept of Florida. It’s despicable how they want Slavery and other horrid acts against black Americans.
Enjoy the ride with your son, and get to the Dakotas. Safe travels and good for you by showing your son the true beauty of the United States.
I've bicycled across both Dakotas twice on cross country rides.
My family Iives in South Dakota. The people who live there are some of most welcoming, down to earth folks I've met anywhere. Stop and chat at small town diners and restaurants. You'll be welcomed warmly.
Ours is a big beautiful country.
Drive safely and enjoy your time with your son.
He's in for a treat...
Safe travels
Border towns next to reservations are HUGELY racist! They HATE!! native America. Just saying.
I've lived in this state almost 24 years and this is the worst it's ever been. My kids graduated here in 2005 & 2008. I thought public education was lacking then but it's only gotten worse. What people need to realize is outside of the largest cities & those with universities, this state is the bloodiest of blood red & excruciatingly stupid. DeSantis, Scott, Rubio, Gaetz etc are a VERY real representation of this state. I'm not kidding. It's like living in a parallel universe and that was never more apparent then when COVID-19 hit in early 2020. The crazy was unleashed. It's frightening. Pinellas used to be borderline sensible & then it elected Ana Paulina Luna(tic). Once my husband retires in a few years, we've got decisions to make.
I know there are Democrats around here, I met them while working on both Obama campaigns...we're just all quiet now. The batshitcrazies are just too unpredictable & no one wants to deal with that. I get really mouthy about it sometimes & my poor husband begs me to dial it back. Too many nuts with too many guns here now.
And they've got "Stand your ground" license to murder at will too. It's horrifying.
The scary part is how many Americans actually agree with DeSantis. Republicans turned over a rock and this is what slithered out. They have been here all along and now Republicans have given them permission to act out. How many Americans are part of a great country and how many are just fascists? The Civil War never ended.
“The Civil War never ended”. My thoughts exactly, Carol.
In many minds it has not. I’m in Northern California now, but lived 35 years in Houston. Left 12 years ago. Believe me, the civil war never ended and they deny , still, it was about slavery.
Part of this is the result of not dealing with the first Lost Cause. It was ridiculous. Those southern states which seceded from the US should have been squashed like a bug. Instead, the north demanded concessions for basically a year, then handed it all back to the wealthy plantation owners thinking they had learned their lesson. Shades of Susan Collins. March forward these lo so many years and we learn racism and hatred for anyone not southern born and white was just sown into the fabric of the south by generational ignorance and bitterness.
Paying for our failures
Teaching children that enslaved people were fortunate to learn valuable skills from their work is like teaching them that the Jews who lived through the Holocaust were fortunate to have been spared from the gas chambers and should be grateful. Why anyone would allow their children to be exposed to that kind of misguided, hate-driven education baffles me. I’m not surprised that someone like Trump lives there, but I wonder how Floridians with progressive values can expose their children to that kind of learning.
It’s classic abuser language, “You should be thankful I take care of you! I’m only beating you because I love you and want you to be a better person. Without me, you’d be nothing, and no one would want you.”
It’s unfortunate that Ron Desantis sat out of the required course as a History major on the plight of Black Americans in the USA from 1619 to the current years because he missed a lot of learning. Don’t tell me the so-called Florida Board of Education doesn’t know about Black History and if they didn’t, there are plenty of historians that could have assisted them. Instead they ‘whitewashed’ any knowledge that they had and showed their ignorance to the subject matter and planed to pass this ‘crap’ on to the student population in Florida. Shame on all of them! The state of Florida is teaching ignorance to the students and Lord knows, we already have enough of that in the general population. Desantis give that degree back to the college that granted it to you because you didn’t earn it based on your current ignorance to the subject matter!
The curriculum standards passed by the Florida Board of Education are appalling. My grandkids are going to be taught this bs. Yes, some enslaved people might have acquired skills but those skills were used for the benefit of their owners, not for the benefit of the enslaved person. This garbage is no different than when I was taught that the Civil War was not about slavery, but about states rights. I have learned so much real history just in the past 15 years.
As a student growing up, I was not taught about the Wilmington coup in 1898 when a white mob went on a murderous rampage, killing black people and removing from office the duly elected city council made up of blacks and whites. Nor did I learn that the governor, for whom my high school was named, promoted that coup and as governor signed legislation disenfranchising black voters. This governor was known as the "Education Governor." During his administration, lots of public schools were built. People are a mixed bag, but I was very disheartened to learn the governor, while a person of his time, actually operated illegally right out in the open. When kids learn the real truth of our history, not the mythology parading as history, they will feel lied to. I did.
FYI--states all have different curriculum standards for the teaching of social studies. Textbook publishers will alter the textbooks according to what the state wants. Students in Texas and California don't learn the same things. Imagine that. 🤪🤪🤪
I do not think he sat it out. It is a deliberate return to the days of massive resistance. Pre Brown v Board of Ed
The dumbing down of America, one state at a time beginning with Florida.
What a little, evil man DeSantis is. What darkness must be in one’s soul to advocate that slavery had a good purpose. That we pervert the truth for an evil gain. From here there is no political redemption.
Steve, I drove across the continental US twice with my daughter who attended college in Southern California from New Jersey. Just us two... those are the memories which linger forever. She made me a Bruce mix which took us through the Utah desert, the Rockies, and the flat lands of the center of our nation. The trip gave me a deeper appreciation for the diverse nature of its people and their assimilation to their environment. I wish you the same as you provide each other with lasting memories before he ventures into adulthood.
How wonderful!
Beautiful! I'm so glad you had those drives with your daughter and that Steve will share this with his son. Unforgettable memories to be treasured.
He may not become the President, but I could see him in the Senate at some point. Florida is now a thoroughly red state, with a few blue pockets.
ADDENDUM: For anyone interpreting my statement above as a desire that DeSantis be elected to the Senate, no. Just, no. I want nothing more for him than to fade into complete obscurity.
He represented Florida's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018. Wasn’t that enough? Why would you ever want to see him in the senate. Aren’t there already enough deranged people there and in the house?
Who says that I want to see him anywhere in public life? It's just my take on the current state of politics in Florida and my assessment that he will seek further electoral office once he is done as Governor. I would like nothing more than to see him fade into complete obscurity, but I don't think that that is likely.
I think he will prefer his Florida fiefdom over just being 1 of 100 in the senate. But if he’s voted out of office, then who knows. His wife makes all the decisions on these things. She’s the climber, and probably likes “First Lady” over Senators wife, so it’s difficult to predict.
He’s term limited, thankfully. Unfortunately, unless we end up with a really dynamic Democratic candidate I think it’s likely that we’ll end up with another whacked out Republican for governor.
I’d forgotten that aspect. No wonder Casey has got him wound up on a Presidential track. She wants to milk First Lady for all she can get.
DeSantis is member of the same group that MTG is in who carry around so much hate, suspicion, and distrust within themselves it consumes them. Making them unable to even see any decency in others. They see all others as a reflection of themselves and since they are full of self loathing, all others must be loathsome too. As you explained in yesterday’s video, the cruelty is the point. The power to inflict pain on others is the only way they feel good about themselves. DeSantis and the others like him - Trump, MTG, Jordan, etc are dangerous to our democratic society and to all of us individually. I hope you are correct in that DeSantis is sliding down the shit heap, but there are many others who need to join him in that slide before we can clean up the mess and get the stench out of our noses.
I envy you Steve, I have crossed the country over a dozen times by car most of which happened before the interstate highway system was completed, 2 or 3 times by train, and countless times by plane where I always get a window seat so that I can see where we are going with memories of what it was like to be driving there. You are absolutely right this is a wonderful land populated by beautiful people, politics aside, which IMHO is the only way to look at them. I have yet to get to Hawaii and Vermont and now I’m not sure that I will manage that, it’s my loss no doubt.
While I’m in RI at the moment I live in GA which is close enough to smell the stench that desatan gives off to the south. I used to love going to FL especially in the winter, not anymore, most of my friends have sold or are planning on selling their homes there, to get the hell out. We have problems in GA with our own governor but he’s relatively sane in comparison to desatan. Now that it’s getting much harder to get insurance there, people might start to wake up to the fact that they have an idiot running the state, but then they put him in office, so who knows. You would think that if people vote for president based on the price of gas, which he has no control over, they might look at their governor and the actual damage he’s done to their state, maybe just a bit askance.
To say negroes benefitted from slavery is like saying the Jews benefitted from Hitler because they now have a Jewish State. It is ludicrous and dangerous when you rewrite history for political reasons or any reason. I am Caucasian but I believe the rewriting of the history of slavery is as disgusting as slavery itself. It is demeaning and offensive and I am ashamed as an American.
Steve, may you and your son enjoy a wonderful road adventure through the awesome terrain of this USA, and thank you for another superb "telling it like it is" essay exposing the cruelty of DeSantis insanity.
I wonder where is the outrage from the citizens and teachers in Florida? I only hear about the stripping of rights and education but never from the Floridians on the news. What are they doing to counter this level of fascism?
I agree with you Steve that Floridas "Hitler wanna be" is nearly expunged from the next presidential race.
He never had it and it just took the "Real" media to turn their attention to him for his campaign to fall apart. Good riddance!
My question is the same one for Floridians as it is for the MAGAT mob. What are you really thinking and when will you wale up?
It is like taking the torch from the Statue of Liberty and thrown into the ocean. America no longer will carry the idealism that makes it the bearer of liberty. Justifying slavery takes America backward all the way to the beginning. We will be where Putin’s Russia is today. Everything can be crushed and obliterated by the decree of one man, Trump or his imposter DeSantis.