Ron DeSantis vs. Education, the LGBTQ Community, and Truth

Over the past few months, the disheartening failures of Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, have been a pain to watch from the perspective of civil rights supporters, climate activists, and students alike, among various other groups. 

Time and again, DeSantis has left a mark on the United States that is becoming more difficult to ignore, both on a local and international level. However, one of the more egregious things the governor of the Sunshine State has done, especially in how it affects us as students, is his repeated attacks aimed at a proper education. Many of the things he’s done require no introduction, especially his criticism of the College Board’s AP African American history course (notably resulting in them changing their curriculum) and the infamous bill HB 1557 dubbed since the “Don’t Say Gay” law. These are also not to address the other various things DeSantis has helped in, such as the banning of various books across the state. 

It is at a point like this that DeSantis, who very ironically calls Florida the “freest state in the nation”, has long since crossed the line of what a politician should do in the eyes of many. The governor’s unashamed attacks on many different communities, especially the LGBTQ+ community, is stunning, even for someone with such far-right beliefs. To be real for a second, it’s a little intimidating; as a trans woman and a student, I simply would not be able to be who I am in DeSantis’ Florida. It’s intimidating. And especially as DeSantis is theorized to be announcing his presidential candidacy soon (not to mention already being many republican’s candidate of choice), this is not the last we will see of him; as DeSantis himself puts it, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

With the looming threat of DeSantis’ America feeling more and more present, and with the threats it brings for the country being more real in the eyes of many, especially the trans community, we can do more than just wait and see what happens. We can stay informed. We can support projects helping people threatened in the United States such as the Trevor Project. And most importantly, we can be loud. We can raise our voices in retaliation to people like Ron DeSantis and fight back.