Opinion: The alarming political changes in Florida have spurred travel advisories from humanitarian groups.
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The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and other high profile civil rights organizations — such as the Human Rights Campaign, League of United Latin American Citizens and Equality Florida — have released advisories that Florida isn’t safe to travel to for people in certain marginalized groups. In its statement on May 20, the NAACP wrote, “Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.”

In response, Rick Scott, a Republican House of Representatives member from Florida, released his own statement on Twitter, which wrote that, “Florida is openly hostile toward Socialists, Communists and those that enable them.”

While it’s framed as comedic, mocking the serious tone of the advisories, it’s an indicator of greater malice. Scott saying that leftists shouldn’t come to Florida is much more than a bad joke — it’s a threat. Scott and others like him want conservative ideology to be enforced by the state, including in schools and workplaces. Florida’s infamous Don’t Say Gay law, banning all curriculums on sexuality or gender identity, has recently been expanded to all grades. There is a great amount of censorship and bannings happening within the state’s educational system, with even one complaint from a parent being enough to enact a full ban on a certain book or movie.
Scott’s statement further wrote, “Travelers should be aware that attempts to spread Socialism in north Florida will fail and be met with laughter and mockery.” 

Florida politicians like Governor Ron DeSantis and Scott are gleefully sliding Florida into fascism while the rest of the country watches. These politicians know the mask of respectability has slipped and they don’t care. The lives of so many people in marginalized communities are being put at risk to further the spine-chilling agenda taking place there.

The ramifications are already in effect. Pride parades are being canceled across the state, and recently Amanda Gorman’s poem from Biden’s inauguration — known for its inspirational message about overcoming oppression — has been banned at a Florida school in Miami-Dade county.

As someone with family ties in Florida, it’s been distressing to see the political battlefield it has become under DeSantis. While the state is known to have a conservative leaning, the open hostility towards anyone who doesn’t wholeheartedly support far-right ideology goes beyond the pale. Visiting my family there, something that’s important to me, now feels much more unsafe. I won’t feel comfortable expressing my true political views or feelings while there.

Florida has become a testing ground for a fascist reality that these extremists want to push across the entire nation. DeSantis, who has officially begun his presidential campaign, is intentionally setting people against each other so that he can achieve his radical agenda.

It’s important to understand the true danger behind the many antics of Florida republicans. They shouldn’t be taken for granted, or treated as just one of the “crazy things” that are common in the state. People in Florida deserve the same rights and protections others in the U.S. have, and what they’re going through right now is a dire warning for the rest of the country.