All opinions expressed in this article are solely the opinions of the contributors.
In the aftermath of the racist shootings in Tallahassee, Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) faced a chorus of boos as he attempted to speak at a vigil honoring the victims. Despite asserting his party’s stance against racist violence in the state, some critics point to DeSantis’s policies, which oppose “wokeness” and alter the way Black history is taught in schools, as contributing factors.
Straight Arrow News contributor Ruben Navarrette argues that DeSantis’s divisive politics are not only fueling conflict but also causing violence.
Recently, DeSantis and his wife, Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, attended a prayer vigil in that city [Jacksonville], for the three victims. The governor tried to speak and condemn the killings, but he was booed and heckled. People shouted, “You’re not welcome here,” and, “Your policies caused this.”
Eventually, DeSantis had to back away from the podium. Did DeSantis’s anti-diversity policies cause the Jacksonville killings? Probably not. Okay, well, did they at least help create the environment, the climate, for the killings to take place? Maybe they did or maybe they didn’t. We can’t know.
But this much is clear. DeSantis is not helping matters. The governor is not bringing Floridians together based on the similarities, he’s only driving them further apart by accentuating and exploiting their differences. It’s like what Eldridge Cleaver, the famed Black Panther, said back in the 1970s: “If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.”
Make no mistake. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, along with his ugly and divisive race games, are most certainly part of the problem.
