Dear Florida: An Open Letter

Dear Florida,

I’m writing to you today from a place of great heartache. I know I’ve been rather distant in recent years, and the divide between us continues to grow deeper and wider with each passing day.

We had a good run back in the day. The thoughts and memories of your sunshine, your glorious palms, beautiful ocean views, and fabulous sunsets and sunrises kept me going and got me through the drudgery of life. I was certain that one day in the future, I would run to your warm embrace one last time, not just to visit, but to live happily together all the remaining days of my life.

But you’ve changed.

You’ve become more cold and more cruel than I could have ever imagined. Downright feral in your quest for power and control, fueled by hate and greed, with a careless disregard for human rights. You’ve been spewing your vitriol out into the open air, imposing your will upon the people by telling them what they can and can’t say, what they can and can’t learn about, what they can and can’t read (Florida book ban facts).

From the passage of the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill that essentially bans teachers from discussing any sort of LGBTQ+ issues or even just LGBTQ+ people to the “Stop WOKE” act that limits protected speech in both workplaces and classrooms while opening the door for employees to sue employers for discrimination if they provide diversity training and/or promote discussions concerning Black history, LGBTQ+ issues or (seemingly) anything else you may deem to be a concept of injustice and discrimination.

You’ve taken away people’s rights to make their own informed health and medical decisions for both themselves and their families by essentially banning abortion and (working on) blocking appropriate gender-affirming care (banned for youth, blocking for adults). The bill for the latter (HB 1421) is written so broadly as to also put at risk things like birth control, menopausal hormone replacement therapies, and hormonal treatments/therapies along with essential surgical interventions for various cancers!

You are attacking families, attacking children, attacking women, and creating what essentially seems very much like a police state. You’re even threatening to take away people’s children—not just those who live in your state, but also those who are just visiting!

People of reasonable mind are beginning to literally FLEE your state, many of them simply to ensure the SAFETY of themselves and their families.

Maybe you thought I wouldn’t notice or wouldn’t care. Maybe you thought that I’d get on board with it all. Or maybe you’re just blind with hunger for power and control. Your reasons don’t matter. There is absolutely no excuse for what you have done and are doing. Every choice you make and every action you take pushes me (and others like me) farther and farther away.

I couldn’t—and wouldn’t—with any semblance of good conscience contribute a single cent to your economy. No one should at this point.

There are plenty of other beautiful beaches in the world to visit and/or live near, and enough of them are in places where human rights and freedoms not only still exist but are still considered the gold standard, where my (and everyone else’s) hard-earned dollars would be much better spent.