It’s commonly understood that Republican Rutherford B. Hayes won the electoral votes from three contested southern states in 1876 and thus took the presidency by promising to remove from the South the U.S. troops that had been protecting Black Americans there. Then, the story goes, he removed the troops in 1877 and ended Reconstruction.
The complete remaking of a state college or university is truly horrifying. I know that it has happened that other schools have been transformed to fit a political or social system, but the chaos DeSantis is trying to create can only be compared to acts taken by Hitler himself.
I'm one of those folks who live in Florida and have watched, truly horrorstruck, as De Santis slashes and burns every single democratic value this country is built upon. He is enormously popular and, for those of us who were outraged by Trump as president, the notion that De Santis could well be our next president is even more frightening. He has gotten away, in Florida, with anti-democratic behavior that would never have worked in our beloved Massachusetts.
As a Floridian, I am shocked by the level of support Desantis has. He is a true fascist, strong-arming his will on every level. HE CAN NEVER BE PRESIDENT. NEVER. His desire for an educational system that produces ignorant racists is appalling. Our kids won’t be able to compete nationally for college acceptance because they won’t know real history. Desantis is targeting individuals who aren’t in line with policies in school boards for replacement in 2024. His white and racist devotees are rising to power and there’s no one to stop him or them. Trying to declare the Democratic Party a nonentity in this state is just the next step. While ineffectual as an organization, this is truly alarming. Every American voter must see this for what it is. Trump, McConnell, McCarthy and their ilk are paving the way. Desantis stands for everything the USA does not and there have been no limits to his atrocious behavior. There ain’t no sunshiney attitudes in the sunshine state. People here are angry, hate-filled, emotionally hyper-triggered who adore Desantis as der Fuerher. He and his wife and his administration will trample the Constitution if given the chance.
I honestly believe this will backfire. These are not American values. God help us if the goal to turn the rest of our country into a Banana Republic, which has always been essentially the State of Florida, comes to pass.
Christofascist DeSantis is beta-testing in Florida what he'd like to do when he's president. What makes him far more dangerous than Trump is that he has hard-core principles that go beyond ego needs and greed, he's well-educated and he knows how government works.
I wonder what they'll teach about how Florida was founded, because the true story is that Andrew Jackson was sent in to commit genocide against the Seminoles for their crime of giving aid and comfort to runaway slaves from the nearby enslaver states of the US, then it was bought from Spain so the US could stop it being a haven for runaway slaves.
Are Floridians truly okay with DeSantis’s maneuverings and the rise of the Florida Reich? It appears that the will of the people may well serve to marginalize the will of the people.
My husband and I have been watching a fictional but frightening series on Amazon called "The Man in the High Castle". It is based on a premise of what would/could happen if Germany and Japan had won WWII. It is a strange show, for sure. But, what isn't so strange is it shows how schools, media, people's minds and life have been taken over by Nazis. In the show, history is being changed to fit their narrative and how people have followed a horrible path.
I see some similarities with what is going on in America with these authoritarian figures and white people's fear that living in a country where equality is respected and encouraged some how means that they are in danger or going to lose something. They see life like it is a pie where if one person has a piece of it, there is less for everyone else.
Thanks to you Dr. Richardson we are enlightened. We see what is going on in Florida and other states too. Wherever we live, we must all be aware and fight with our votes so we don't lose our most precious thing: our democracy!
The last thing I want is for Maryland to become like Florida. There was a time when I thought retiring to a place like St. Augustine might be nice. No more. Between the crazy weather and the crazier Governor I'll stay away. At least DeSantis is being very open and clear about his beliefs. The kids on that college campus need some 1960's spirit and rise up.
God save us from DeSantis. We are fairly new to Florida and are appalled by his actions. There doesn’t seem to be any way to stop him. What can be done? We Democrats are ineffectual. He gets what he wants. So horrible.
And I wonder what Disney will do about DeSantis taking over Disneyland. Australia wants a Disneyland, so maybe they can pack it up in crates and ship it there. That would probably be cheaper than building it from scratch. Leaving DeSantis in the lurch would be very satisfying.
150 years later and and the motivations and arguments are just the same. It is sickening.
We cannot learn from our history if we never are taught the true story. Heather makes it abundantly clear how much damage continues to be done by the white supremacist mythology.
Republicans feel they have the right to censor and restrict everyone else's speech and actions But then you get the Comer bill to protect Tucker Carlson and Fox and Company. Always one rule for US and a different one for you all lesser beings.
I never understood how guys like Comer 's brains must work given the degree of cognitive dissonance.
Trump was bad enough - but he really couldn't think through a logical argument. (poor attention span!) If DeSantis were president I shudder to think how he'd squash freedoms: of speech, of the press, of religion! Don't tell me Republicans give a darn about our "rights" under the constitution - only the "right" to "bear arms in a militia" - ie AK15s!
The complete remaking of a state college or university is truly horrifying. I know that it has happened that other schools have been transformed to fit a political or social system, but the chaos DeSantis is trying to create can only be compared to acts taken by Hitler himself.
I'm one of those folks who live in Florida and have watched, truly horrorstruck, as De Santis slashes and burns every single democratic value this country is built upon. He is enormously popular and, for those of us who were outraged by Trump as president, the notion that De Santis could well be our next president is even more frightening. He has gotten away, in Florida, with anti-democratic behavior that would never have worked in our beloved Massachusetts.
As a Floridian, I am shocked by the level of support Desantis has. He is a true fascist, strong-arming his will on every level. HE CAN NEVER BE PRESIDENT. NEVER. His desire for an educational system that produces ignorant racists is appalling. Our kids won’t be able to compete nationally for college acceptance because they won’t know real history. Desantis is targeting individuals who aren’t in line with policies in school boards for replacement in 2024. His white and racist devotees are rising to power and there’s no one to stop him or them. Trying to declare the Democratic Party a nonentity in this state is just the next step. While ineffectual as an organization, this is truly alarming. Every American voter must see this for what it is. Trump, McConnell, McCarthy and their ilk are paving the way. Desantis stands for everything the USA does not and there have been no limits to his atrocious behavior. There ain’t no sunshiney attitudes in the sunshine state. People here are angry, hate-filled, emotionally hyper-triggered who adore Desantis as der Fuerher. He and his wife and his administration will trample the Constitution if given the chance.
I honestly believe this will backfire. These are not American values. God help us if the goal to turn the rest of our country into a Banana Republic, which has always been essentially the State of Florida, comes to pass.
Christofascist DeSantis is beta-testing in Florida what he'd like to do when he's president. What makes him far more dangerous than Trump is that he has hard-core principles that go beyond ego needs and greed, he's well-educated and he knows how government works.
I wonder what they'll teach about how Florida was founded, because the true story is that Andrew Jackson was sent in to commit genocide against the Seminoles for their crime of giving aid and comfort to runaway slaves from the nearby enslaver states of the US, then it was bought from Spain so the US could stop it being a haven for runaway slaves.
Thank you Heather - for putting US straight.
Are Floridians truly okay with DeSantis’s maneuverings and the rise of the Florida Reich? It appears that the will of the people may well serve to marginalize the will of the people.
What happened to all those New York City and Northeastern liberals who retired to Florida?
What kind of lie did DeSantis tell to get elected governor?
Are there any Floridians shouting, “Hell no!”?
For sure, DeSantis is presenting a realistic example of what the Republican Party would like to accomplish throughout the nation.
Hell no!
My husband and I have been watching a fictional but frightening series on Amazon called "The Man in the High Castle". It is based on a premise of what would/could happen if Germany and Japan had won WWII. It is a strange show, for sure. But, what isn't so strange is it shows how schools, media, people's minds and life have been taken over by Nazis. In the show, history is being changed to fit their narrative and how people have followed a horrible path.
I see some similarities with what is going on in America with these authoritarian figures and white people's fear that living in a country where equality is respected and encouraged some how means that they are in danger or going to lose something. They see life like it is a pie where if one person has a piece of it, there is less for everyone else.
Thanks to you Dr. Richardson we are enlightened. We see what is going on in Florida and other states too. Wherever we live, we must all be aware and fight with our votes so we don't lose our most precious thing: our democracy!
The last thing I want is for Maryland to become like Florida. There was a time when I thought retiring to a place like St. Augustine might be nice. No more. Between the crazy weather and the crazier Governor I'll stay away. At least DeSantis is being very open and clear about his beliefs. The kids on that college campus need some 1960's spirit and rise up.
God save us from DeSantis. We are fairly new to Florida and are appalled by his actions. There doesn’t seem to be any way to stop him. What can be done? We Democrats are ineffectual. He gets what he wants. So horrible.
And I wonder what Disney will do about DeSantis taking over Disneyland. Australia wants a Disneyland, so maybe they can pack it up in crates and ship it there. That would probably be cheaper than building it from scratch. Leaving DeSantis in the lurch would be very satisfying.
Recruiting ''mission-aligned'' students - that's a blood-chilling piece of language.
Sad, sick, and horrifying. But thank you Heather, for the enlightening lesson from our wild and wooly history. The struggle is still real....
150 years later and and the motivations and arguments are just the same. It is sickening.
We cannot learn from our history if we never are taught the true story. Heather makes it abundantly clear how much damage continues to be done by the white supremacist mythology.
Republicans feel they have the right to censor and restrict everyone else's speech and actions But then you get the Comer bill to protect Tucker Carlson and Fox and Company. Always one rule for US and a different one for you all lesser beings.
I never understood how guys like Comer 's brains must work given the degree of cognitive dissonance.
Trump was bad enough - but he really couldn't think through a logical argument. (poor attention span!) If DeSantis were president I shudder to think how he'd squash freedoms: of speech, of the press, of religion! Don't tell me Republicans give a darn about our "rights" under the constitution - only the "right" to "bear arms in a militia" - ie AK15s!