>

Then so be it. The rest of the country should not have to adjust to Ron DeSantis's whims, but kids from Florida are going to learn the hard way unfortunately that certain types of jobs, especially the best paying ones, are just going to be out of reach for them.
There is literally nothing in this document that is even remotely controversial. >

It doesn't matter what's inside. Pretty sure he thinks or has supporting data that him going after Critical Race Theory gains him points. What else does he really care about? He is walking a fine line trying to win his voter base in the primary over Trump, but doesn't become so hated he loses the main election.
Anyway, the name sounds hostile, that's enough. Names matter more than the content when you are deal with crowds. For example, defund the police was probably the dumbest slogan of the last decade. Especially when *reform/modernize/ was readily available.
The vast majority of voters are not going to look at the details. And I'm not even trying to call voters stupid. People have their own lives to deal with. Work, Kids, Bills, Stress, whatever, there is more information out there than we can handle. And your thing is probably in the background. In this new social media environment the name of something is incredibly important. >


Anyway, the name sounds hostile, that's enough. Names matter more than the content when you are deal with crowds. For example, defund the police was probably the dumbest slogan of the last decade. Especially when *reform/modernize/ was readily available.

Oh my god THANK YOU. That slogan was practically serving the Republicans scores of extra votes on a silver platter. It was all over every single fucking campaign, and easily stretched to "Dems want to unleash all the violent criminals on you and your family. Vote for the party of law and order today!"
Democrats already tend to suck at messaging but "Defund the Police" was so obviously going to play right into Republicans' favor. Yeah Republican mouthpieces will twist and flat-out make up shit on us, but giving them actual reams of thousands of people saying "defund the police!" is extreme-sounding enough that it makes the actual lies sound more believable and less out there.
Defund the police sounds like it means "terminate all police jobs ASAP" and no follow-up plan. People easily jump right to the danger and chaos of suddenly having no law enforcement.
"Reform the police" would have been better. >

"Defund the police" is an accurate description. The people who want to defund the police do not want to reform the police. They believe that we have already tried to reform the police and it has failed miserably. We keep giving police more money to "reform" with "training" and nothing changes. They want to defund the police and use that money (because it's so much money) to improve our society (for example, to house the homeless and feed the hungry) >

One really can't safely kick out all law enforcement without something else ready and capable stepping in to fill the same basic functions right away, so I'd argue defund would still fall under reform. Just removing law enforcement suddenly and entirely is a well-proven recipe for theft and violence, and hurts public perception of the group/s that did the removing.
Which also reiterates that it was an awful-sounding slogan that handed a silver platter directly to Republicans. "Defund" also brings the mental image of firing 660,288+ people suddenly, which also plays nicely into "Republicans are the party for jobs and the economy!" >

I'm not super well-versed in abolitionism, so I'm a little out of my depth here, but there's two basic avenues of response to that. On the one hand, there are abolitionists who believe that the current system is so bad that just getting rid of it entirely would be an improvement. On the other hand, there are those who want to replace the police with a variety of civil services, many of which already exist. The End of Policing is a good place to start in terms of how people are thinking about non-police solutions to the problems that police theoretically solve (mostly, things people think they do, but they aren't particularly effective at) in current society.
The reason "defund" is the term they use is because they specifically want to take money away from the police and give it to these other groups. It's a better, more specific word for what they want.
I understand how the GOP will turn on it, but at the same time, I've watched the left pussyfoot around GOP potential reactions for years, and I'm tired of it. They're going to go ballistic either way, so we might as well say what we mean. >

Thank you for the resources!
But please know this conversation chain was not about what "defund the police" really meant and the actual steps intended to address the problems. The conversation was solely about how bad of a chant "defund the police" is, because of how it sounds.
It turns people off so instantaneously with fear and knee-jerk "but then who will stop the criminals" that people won't even consider listening at all to "woah there here's what we actually mean and the list of what we actually want to do to fix the problems."
Republican media will keep twisting and making shit up, but that doesn't mean we should hand them such easy and actually genuine videos of masses of progressives chanting "defund the police." It immediately terrifies tons of people with a far more real, dangerous, and widespread threat than, say, drag queens reading to kids or gay people getting married does. And since they actually had video of thousands of people chanting it, it makes the twists and outright bullshit seem more believable.

I understand how the GOP will turn on it, but at the same time, I've watched the left pussyfoot around GOP potential reactions for years, and I'm tired of it. They're going to go ballistic either way, so we might as well say what we mean.

Same here, but I believe we shouldn't go all-out with absolutely everything. Psychology and politics are always in play and working with how psychology works instead of casting it aside helps people be more effective. I'm in the psychology field so I also see it everywhere...there are times and things where it is better to be brazen and all-out, and times and things to be more strategic and diplomatic about.
I also just plain wanted to take a moment to vent about this one particularly awful chant, because I am so tired of shit-tier messaging by the left not just shooting ourselves in the foot, but simultaneously handing a gun to Republicans and regressives on a silver platter and inviting them to shoot us in the foot too. >

This is Advanced placement. This is a college curriculum course. This is an elective.
Republicans would have you think people are being forced into this. That's not the case at all. This is just flat-out hatred >

This is a typical fishing story issue, so this elective, college-level course will suddenly turn into “they’re teaching African studies to our kindergarteners, think of our children!” in no time at all >

"I heard they now have these African Critical Race Queer Theory classes and they're teaching it in Kindergartens in liberal states. You have these kids squatting in litter boxes listening this nonsense all day."

Joe Rogan in about 10 minutes >

Joe Rogan: takes massive bong hit "These teachers are killing society!  5 year olds learning about critical race theory, it's being taught by drag queens while they talk about gay grooming!  And is it a coincidence that these schools have people with 5G phones in the building?  I think not!" >

Also Rogan:
Guest #1: "I don't think any of this stuff about Kindergarteners being taught critical race theory is true"
Rogan: "yea....i don't know. Maybe..i see what you're saying"
Guest #2: "They're literally harvesting adrenochrome from these Kindergartners and that is why they all of a sudden all believe theyre cats....because they replace the kid's medulla oblongata with a cat's pancreas!"
Rogan: "That makes SO much sense! you're right! I heard about this....it's wild man" >

Guest 2 is definitely Eddie Bravo. Ugh. >

Even worse than that fucking Johnny bravo guy >

Johnny needs education on boundaries and consent.
Eddie needs education, period. >

Punching down on two minorities at once? Good ole Republican policy. If he could have thrown immigrants in there, it could have been a hat trick for Republican goodness. Missed opportunity. >

There are no “immigrants” I learned in the new replacement class >

Rising sea levels only removes the land. >

More BeachFront homes for everyone! >

"Who's going to buy the homes, Ben?  Fucking Aquaman?" >

Remember when proponents of that law said it was about kindergarteners, not high schoolers? >

Are you telling us that they lied about their intentions?!
Color me shocked, absolutely shocked.
/s
The only faith Republicans have is bad faith. >

I have had the same shocked face since the 90s. My eyebrows are stuck in an expression of constant surprise. >

Kinda like fucker Carlson? >

Gghghh I hope not >

They're systematically criminalizing our fucking existence.
This is not a fucking game. They are building the social and legal framework to categorize sex and gender variation outside cis/straight norms as being inherently sexual and obscene and degenerate. Our existence in public spaces is being turned into a goddamn sex crime.
And they aren't going to fucking stop voluntarily. There is no goddamn line where they will decide they've gone far enough, except the point at which we no longer exist. >

Nazis are showing themselves again.
The end goal is exterminating undesirables. >

You know this famous picture of a Nazi book burning?
That was the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft library - founded in 1919 in Berlin, the Institut was the first major modern medical (and legal, social, etc) clinic for what we now describe as LGBTQ people. Including the first clinic offering something resembling modern transition-related medical care to trans people.
Their library was the largest collection of medical, scientific, and cultural literature by and about LGBTQ people in the early 20th century. And the Institut and its library were destroyed in 1933. >

As someone with mental illness I am a bit worried as the mentally ill usually get targeted at some point as well. I would likely have been called a useless eater by the Nazis since ah am disabled. The emphasis of blaming gun violence on mental illness seems like a scary road the right will use to protect their guns and portray mentally ill as violent as well as useless. I am scared for the future, mostly for my Nephews who both have Autism. >

Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me at all. Blaming gun violence, crime in general, homelessness, on "mental illness" with emphasis on a return to the old approach of categorically locking up people deemed "unfit" for participation in society. >

I think we're past trying to lockup all the homeless people.. The likely outcome is just allow more police brutality on homelessness, until everyone is dead. >

I think the homeless could unite and be a powerful political force but it would be tough to do. Imagine what would be possible. >

Can he even define queer theory? Sounds like something he pulled out of his ass >

A conversation I had with my son last week regarding his friend "coming out" and getting divorced from his wife.
Me- So, he's gay?
Son- Nah, I think he's more queer than gay.
Me- What does that mean in today's context?
Son- I think it kinda means that he likes men and women.
Me- So, he's bi?
Son- No, it's different than that.
So, my son has a queer friend and doesn't really know what it means. My gay daughter has basically the same understanding of the word. I for sure don't know what it means. DeSantis absolutely has no idea what it means. >

From what I can tell, queer has become (gone back to?) the encompassing term that just means 'not exclusively hetero'.
Edit: as mentioned below, that probably should have been cis-hetero. I blame my mostly cis-hetero-ishness. >

Not sure that definition works because you can have someone whose hetero that's queer because queer also encompasses gender identity.
aka a straight trans person is still queer because being trans falls under the umbrella term of queer. >

You are absolutely correct and that's actually closer to what I meant. Not being queer or trans myself, I admit to a bit of blindness about not making that clearer. Edited above to clarify it as cis-hetero. 
Even then, I assume there's probably someone who has a good reason for that not being correct either. >

Yeah, the standard meaning of queer that most people use is not cis heterosexual.
Queer is one of those nebulous words that has a standard meaning in the community but is collectively defined by everyone in the community so it can change more frequently.
I kind of shift the language I use about my sexuality and gender identity depending on how much information I feel comfortable giving someone about myself.
And I think a lot of us do who are lgbtq+. >

"Now, who would say that's an important part of Black History, Queer Theory?"
So much of modern LGBT culture comes from Black Americans. Voguing was invented in Harlem ballroom competitions, which then inspired Madonna to make her "Vogue" song.
So infuriating how Republicans dismissively say things that are blatantly wrong with such confidence.
​
Also for anyone interested, check out "Paris is Burning" and "Pose". >

Come on, rising sea levels. >

You know Florida's a shithole when you're cheering on climate change to get rid of some of the state. >

That remains to be seen. They aren’t the smartest bunch and they keep rebuilding their homes that get knocked down by hurricanes every couple of years, with our tax dollars mind you >

Or LITERALLY fall over for lack of maintenance >

Ron DeSantis is a repugnant, evil man. Period. >

Ronald Trump >

He’s trying to pit blacks against gay people just like the republicans did 30 years ago when we (gay people) were gaining rights to housing, employment, education etc. 
I remember the ‘look black people! Those rich white gay people with their masters degrees are trying to co-opt your struggle! You’re not going to let them do that, are you?’
It’s disgusting that they’re still egging this on, and there’s plenty of Dave Chappelles & Candace Owens out there gullible enough to bite. 
I’m curious what right-wing closet cases like Sarah Huckabee Sanders & Lindsay Graham will say about this, if anything. 
The most dangerous takeaway is how much Ron DeSantis hates gay men (I’m guessing he has no problems with gay women). I only see this getting worse, given his background. >

I agree with everything you said except for the Chappell bit. It isn’t fair lumping in Candice Owens with a comedian, even though what comes out of both their mouths is hilarious >

I think the best comment I've seen about Chappelle was that "Chappelle Show era Dave would be currently roasting the shit out of what he turned into." >

“It’s way more than that. This course on Black history, what [is] one of the lessons about? Queer theory. Now, who would say that’s an important part of Black history, Queer theory? That is somebody pushing an agenda on our kids.”
I like how he made absolutely no effort to learn more. Just having queer in there was enough. >

It’s… so important, actually. He’s acting like there are no black queer people. Black trans women literally started the (debatably) most important LGBTQ+ rights riot in history. He’s pulling shit out of his ass that makes no sense. >

This class is also being taught to high school students who are clearly capable of understanding and connecting with sexuality and the fact it ain’t just straight men and women out there. 
It’s mind blowing that he can look at an AP course and be like ‘Omg, indoctrination!’, when these kids have already figured out, or are in the process of figuring out their sexuality/identity and the importance of those roles in society. 
If he took two seconds to realize who these classes are being created for, he’d realize how ridiculous he sounds. >

So I guess black people can't be gay? Black history and their own queer history is important. 
Fuck this racist/homophobic potato looking fuck >

I kid you not some people think only white people are gay because they are so privileged that they can get delusions of being gay instead of just doing things the "natural way". That the whole thing is a conspiracy to destroy the west by the "elites" (Jews). Anyone that isn't white and queer is just under the corrupting influence of the west. I've been told by my own family I'm not actually my ethnicity and I would need to relinquish it for being corrupted by the west. >

“Guys, I’m not racist, I’m just homophobic” >

This dude seriously needs a a pointy white mask >

He already has one.  He's not quite ready to wear it outside. >

Ironic that there was a time in the south when someone with the name ‘DeSantis’ would’ve been chased the fuck out of those small Florida towns with pitchforks & torches. 
Italians were absolutely not wanted either. >

Question. Why does the fucking governor, who has no expertise in this field, have any say as to what courses are taught? >

Governor Desantis, why did you kick that puppy?  
UHM. CRITICAL RACE WOKE QUEER IDENTITY PRONOUN.  
:republican base erupts in cheers: >

The sad part is after the last 7 years I can 100% see this scenario playing out. All it takes is a few buzzwords to get them going, thanks to fox noise >

I don't know why Republicans think attacking academic speech is a winning issue for them. Most Americans are concerned about the state of education in this country, but those concerns largely center around the lack of resources and rigor of the curriculum compared to other countries (not to mention school shootings). 
The midterms already demonstrated that the GOP isn't going to get any traction on these dumbass culture wars against teachers. In general, people tend to like their kids' teachers and think they should be paid more. >

But they're owning the libs, and that's all that matters. >

Gay kids grow up their whole lives reading about straight people, watching them in tv and movies.  Guess what? They still end up being gay. You can’t turn someone gay or straight. >

The finer detail to this...
When dudes complain about how gays always want to "come out"... they always hyperbolicly describe it as waving rainbow flags, throwing glitter everywhere and playing disco. 
But fail to understand that just by holding hands, kissing their opposite sex significant other in public, mentioning in casual conservation at a gym that they're taking their wife or girlfriend to Vegas, nice dinner, etc... they're constantly 'coming out' themselves to everyone else.
The reality of it is that GLBT+ folks just want to be able to do the same thing: Be themselves without fear of reprisals or repercussions. Even if it's just something as simple as being able to say "My Partner and I are going on vacation and I am excited."
But somehow that's "shoving it down their throats" or "failing to keep sexuality off the mats." >

College Board should just say OK, no more AP courses for Florida. By tomorrow DeSantis would reverse course. Is anyone ever going to stand up to these terrorists, or are we just going to cave and bow down to them in perpetuity? >

He would consider this a win. Education is the enemy of the far right.