Red Tide

I'm so scared of Red Tide. And I ain't talking about what's washing up on some nearby beaches right now, here in Florida. I'm talking about Republicans or, as I call that party and most of the people who comprise it, repugs. I'm not into name calling but they deserve it. If the repug fits, get called it. They are repugnant, and not even worthy of the energy it would take to add in that last syllable, "nant", hence: repugs. Been calling them that for many years now and they just keep earning it anew. But I digress: they are taking over my state! And I'm scared, no joke.

When I moved to Florida 29 years ago, it was purple. There was a Democratic governor. I had to move here due to a physical challenge that I won't bore you with but the bottom line of which was/is that I have to live somewhere subtropical or tropical, period. That kind of narrows down one's options if one is an American and one loves one's home country and wants to stay in same. Couldn't go to California (where, as it happens, I was born, even though I'm a northeastern, mid-Atlantic girl to the core, and my parents were, too--they just happened to be in CA when they had me, but they moved back east when I was a tender little infant of 5 months old) because it's too arid for said sitch, and also the housing was way too expensive there for me at the time (and now). Hawaii seemed similarly impractical. But Florida? I could stay basically on the east coast, I could be near my beloved Atlantic, and it really doesn't get more humid than Florida, and I was all about the dew point at that time. So I set about the business of STUDYING everything I could (which was a LOT harder back then, pre-everyone-having-the-net: it was 1992, people, when I made the decision to move) about Florida. I went to the library (remember the library?). I wrote to Chambers of Commerce and had them send me stuff. I narrowed my city choices down to three, none of which were St. Pete, but, awesomely, the cosmos guided me here and, once I set foot in St. Pete (which was only ever supposed to be where I was staying on my reconnaissance mission in July of 1993, while I drove around to the three cities I was considering moving too--St. Pete was just supposed to be base camp for that, it wasn't on my radar at all), I fell in love instantly with this city. INSTANTLY.

I still looked at the other three contenders but, looking back, I think I actually knew right away: it was going to be St. Pete. And, luckily, St. Pete was pretty liberal, especially compared to some other areas of the state, so good: St. Pete. And I felt, as a girl from a solidly Blue state, and a solidly Blue set of parents, and a solidly and wildly, deeply Blue upbringing, comfortable with the fact that I was moving to the--gasp--south. Because, it's okay, I'm going to St. Pete. And look, the Governor is a Democrat. And... it's going to be okay. Well, that was before 2000. Which I can't even TALK about--2000, that is--to this day. I'm serious, no can do, still too traumatized, but if you know what I'm talking about simply by the 4 numerical digits "2000", then bless you and, if you know, you know. If you don't know, watch the first 15-ish minutes of "Fahrenheit 9/11" and call me in the morning. And, actually, if you have never watched Fahrenheit 9/11, you need to do so immediately, or right after you read the rest of this. I feel like that is when Florida started, no pun intended, going south on me.

Fast forward to now and we have a bunch of repugs MOVING HERE SPECIFICALLY DUE TO DESANTIS BEING GOVERNOR. It's a thing. A real, tangible thing. It started during the pandemic, with people who didn't want to wear masks or get vaccinated. And now we had a news story here the other day about a biiiiiiiig DeSantis rally, with lines of people waiting to see him, and one excited woman who was interviewed said, ecstatically, "I moved here for DeSantis! I moved here because I want to be in a free state!"

A free state? We're not free! We're not allowed to say "gay", let alone be anywhere on the LGBPTQIA+ spectrum. We're not allowed to have "climate change" in government documents, or teachers' unions, or to teach the actual history of the US of A. Girls and adult women aren't free to have agency over their own bodies and health care decisions. Companies, like cruise lines, aren't free to do what is best for their businesses by mandating vaccines to board their ships. I don't feel safe going to church, synagogue, the grocery store, events, etc., because people are walking around with semi-automatic weapons. This isn't a "free" state. You are not free to be yourself, to teach the truth, to form unions. DeSantis is also trying to take over the curricula of state colleges. So is this freedom or fascism?

This Red Tide is terrifying. I moved to a purple state which has, seemingly slowly at first, but now ever exponentially faster, become ruby, ruby red. When I sit in traffic on the way to and from work, or anywhere--bumper to bumper traffic, which *never* used to be the case, even just a few years ago here in St. Pete--I keep thinking of that woman on the news a few days ago: "I moved here for Governor DeSantis! I moved here to be in a free state!"

I guess one girl's "freedom" is another girl's "fascism". Potato, potato. This girl is scared. And now DeSantis is clearly running for President. This "freedom" could be coming soon, to every state of the union. Unless we stand up to it. Silence is not an option.