I don't talk a lot about local politics, or how crazy things are in rural Florida these days. I want to share a local story, that's been brewing for a long time, today.
I'm pretty sure most of us have at least heard of book bans in Florida schools. What, I think, goes underreported and under discussed is just how terrifying that is for teachers. You'll find some debate about it, DeSantis says it's not true, but, as Florida schools go back into session this week a lot of the teachers my wife and I know are afraid of accidentally committing a 3rd degree felony. How? By having someone find the "wrong" book in their classroom. They've all emptied the shelves of all books, period, but there's still fear.
So, how is this playing out in my local school district? I'm not naming names because I think these poor people need a break.
Ever since a Moms 4 Liberty member got elected to our school board last year, it's been wild. Every school board meeting is jam packed with right wingers cursing and often threatening the other board members. There is one board member, in particular, who is often the focus of their scorn. She also happens to be a former principal and the woman who hired my wife for her first teaching job and a former mentor.
Last year someone was waiting by her car after a meeting with a hatchet and threatened to kill her and her family, if you want to imagine the environment here. For a while she quit going to meetings in person, and was allowed to attend virtually, for her own safety, but because of right wing pressure she's not allowed to do so this year.
This background all brings me to something I learned this morning. Back when my kids were in the local school district(we pulled our kids out and my wife left to teach elsewhere in 2021) there was this super sweet, older lady who was the librarian at their elementary school. She really liked our older boy, in particular, who is a voracious reader, and over the years she would tell his teachers just to send him to the library when he was done with his work. He would read, help shelve books, and even sit at the help desk to help other kids. She went so far above and beyond for the school. She organized plays, she bought books out of her own money...she was the glue that held that school together.
A couple years back she took a well deserved promotion to Head Media Specialist for the entire district. As such, when DeSantis began his book banning crusade she was made the head of a group of 7 people who decide, for the entire district, what books need to be pulled from libraries. Because book banning isn't happening fast enough for the Moms 4 Liberty crowd, she was outed at a school board meeting over the summer as the head of this group. No one else was named.
Since then she's endured non-stop threats. It only took me a few minutes to find her social media this morning and it's disgusting and has been, non-stop, for months.
As I was reading it I couldn't help but think of a very brief interaction I had with @StillIRise1963 yesterday. This is just one example of what's happening with the Dems down here, sadly.
@BE Just terrible. Teachers and educators need the support of sane people. Sane people need to stand up for each other.
@BE The book banning is awful. I feel very sorry too for this person, damn.
Since I'm a book nerd I've been following some people in the bookish world who are dealing with this too in some of the states. They're showing what the meetings are like & how these books bans keep happening. It's opened my eyes to the absurdity, but also the extreme organizing that goes on behind these anti-book movements. People from other school districts just flying in to hold 1 minute speeches about how the most decent books are harmful, with outrageous arguments, and all these people are just going along. Immense networks of ill will, helping each other to terrorize any opposition. Truly scary.
Sorry you're dealing with this in your part of the world.
@BE @StillIRise1963 sick, vile, hateful fascist nazzisantis.
@BE horrifying. Thanks for telling us about this.
@BE @StillIRise1963 are there no unionized teachers in Florida? what is happening with librarians? why aren't people organizing against this shit? it's inconceivable that this is happening and nobody is doing anything about it --and no, having a supermajority in the state government isn't an excuse. all these news make it seem like floridians are completely helpless. this isn't good. y'all need to amplify the voices of the people fighting the fascists at all levels of government & society.
@blogdiva I just moved from Ft Myers, FL after 15 years back notth to home. Seems like what you are daying makes sense but actually the people are so blind and true to their party they vote a worse one into office everytime. Scott was just as bad so they voted him into the Senate and put in DeSantis???
@JackKissir @blogdiva @StillRise1963 I am a florida native and every time I think we can’t vote in a worse governor, I’m proven wrong. We’ve gone from Jeb! -> Voldemort -> DeFurher. I think it is understated how much the ever increasing influence of everyone’s racist grandparents moving here is having. Their children are grown and they will be dead in 20 years, so they don’t care about anything except what their fox hate soap opera tells them to care about.
@blogdiva @BE @StillIRise1963
#FL is full of rich Republican Yankees avoiding taxes and cold weather, and people who did not have the benefit of a decent K-12 education. The Yankees like what's happening (or don't care) and the rest don't know any better.
@blogdiva @BE @StillIRise1963 how is it that Starbucks workers can unionize but teachers in Florida are voiceless and impotent?
@DunaBlue2 @blogdiva @BE @StillIRise1963
This has made me angry in Canada with Covid. They have one of the wealthiest pensions, they have unions and power.
But they put their lives at risk, the children's lives, feign ignorance as they teach compliance and subjection to evil. They could be making parents also reckon with reality instead of everyone throwing up their hands as if they can do nothing.
@DunaBlue2 @blogdiva @BE @StillIRise1963
Not FL BUT
In NJ (union NJEA) + 3 other union jobs over my lifetime. I can tell you that here it is illegal for teachers to strike. Members have & we donate to their bail funds. They do get arrested/jailed. Some districts had "morals clauses" that you could be fired (even if tenured) for illegal conduct.
There was a push for us to join the Teamsters years ago. We should have. Interconnectedness=Power
@ArtseaGardener @DunaBlue2 @BE @StillIRise1963 this is where union solidarity falters in this country. each union cannot win by themselves. it has to be all or we'll get shit legislation like that. it's enraging. y'all not 'should', you have a human right to strike. we need all unions working together to fight these jimcrowesque laws.
@blogdiva @ArtseaGardener @BE @StillIRise1963 you nailed that! Crabs in barrel get nothing fighting each other.
they did the same I think here in Ontario at least, not sure about rest of Canada. Turning teachers into essential workers...because how can parents go to work for capitalism unless the kids are being babysat in schools.
@DunaBlue2 @blogdiva @BE @StillIRise1963
@DunaBlue2 @blogdiva @BE @StillIRise1963 The teachers in FL do not have tenure. They can be fired for any reason. It's one thing when you have the right to strike, but they are w/o protections.
@fulanigirl @blogdiva @BE @StillIRise1963 that’s criminal - capitalism fosters individual vulnerabilities so people act contrary to collective well being…
@BE @StillIRise1963 As a bookworm who lived in libraries and had her world opened up by being able to access whatever I wanted to read from classics to pulp fiction, this disgusts me that close minded individuals have this much power.
@BE
“Last year someone was waiting by her car after a meeting with a hatchet and threatened to kill her and her family, if you want to imagine the environment here.”
Wow. I can only imagine the stress of living in the middle of that, and being a parent and an educator too. I’m sorry.
@BE @StillIRise1963
This is how fascism is, and how fascism feels.
@BE @StillIRise1963 Make American Florida? No effing way!
Anyway, thanks for sharing. I hope this eventually goes away and the country's MAGA cancer eventually goes into remission. Remission because this stuff never really goes away and we always have to be vigilant for its return.
@BE @StillIRise1963
Why would you keep living in Florida? If there are options, I would be moving to a state that actually promotes education and health care!
I will not visit! Doing my bit to kill #floridatourism
@BE @StillIRise1963 I also live in FL! This is so upsetting!!
@BE @StillIRise1963 as much as I hate to say it, it sounds like it's time to stop being unarmed in public. The fact that the country has gotten this crazy is a crying shame, but it'll be even worse once one of them breaks the dam and starts hurting people.
Better to have a fighting chance with a weapon and some self defense than be the first to fall.
Fascism, historically speaking, has had multiple facets and expressions, but somehow the essence of it is always this kind of wolfpack mentality and the political violence it inspires.
Well, then, none of them should have a copy of the Bible in their classrooms. Talk about a shitpig of a book filled with violence, sex and massive amounts of bullshit.
"I’ve covered extremism and violent ideologies around the world over my career. Have never come across a political force more nihilistic, dangerous & contemptible than today’s Republicans. Nothing close." - Edward Luce, Financial Times
"I agree. And I was the CIA Director." - General Michael Hayden
@BE @StillIRise1963 Even college courses in African American history and psychology have been under the knife... Not just young kids