Ron DeSantis vetoes millions in arts grants to defund “sexual” theater festivals

jeffw@lemmy.worldmod to News@lemmy.world – 424 points –
Ron DeSantis vetoes millions in arts grants to defund “sexual” theater festivals - LGBTQ Nation
lgbtqnation.com
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And yet child beauty pageants will still be up and running.

There's nothing more holy than parading your children in bikinis, makeup, and pushup bras for a bunch of old white men.

It is the way of the lord.

I appreciate the sentiment but its irrelevant. We're allowed to make theatre about sex.

Freest country in the world my bunghole.

Not according to DeSantis. Only he gets to decide what kind of sexual expression we're allowed.

“You have your tax dollars being given in grants to things like the Fringe Festival, which is like a sexual festival where they’re doing all this stuff,” DeSantis said during a Thursday press conference, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Hmm, I wonder what kinds of "sexual stuff" he's referring to.

the Tampa Bay Times reports that the governor’s spokespeople did not respond to questions about specific events he found objectionable.

Oh.

Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani (D), who attended this year’s Orlando Fringe festival, told the Times that she saw nothing “sexual” at the festival.

“It does feature drag queens and other forms of artistic expression that DeSantis has wanted to censor despite courts telling him otherwise!” Eskamani said.

So a man dressing in women's clothes is an inherently sexual act, according to these sexually repressed freaks.

So a man dressing in women’s clothes is an inherently sexual act, according to these sexually repressed freaks.

Why weren't these heroes around to defund all theater in Shakespeare's day? Think what they could have accomplished!

I await the DeSantis campaign to outlaw the films Some Like it Hot and Mrs. Doubtfire in Florida.

The arts are vital for a healthy society - their constant marginalization is deeply damaging.

These fuckers want fascism, not a healthy society.

Even the fascists loved art in the 1930s and 1940s. They just used it for their own ends. Goebbels knew how vital art was all too well.

These fascists are too stupid to understand that they could actually use public arts funding that way thankfully. This might be a better result in some ways.

dude federal authorities should totally investigate this fucker's laptop. i bet there's all sorts of illegal fucked up shit in there. sex is all he thinks about all day every day. there's no way he has normal porn habits.

I'm pretty happy that the 4th amendment is still somewhat working in protecting us from unreasonable search.

Now if the feds have reasonable suspicion and can get a judge to sign off on a warrant, go nuts!

spending all day talking about kids and sex and sexualizing kids is way more than enough suspicion in my book.

dude federal authorities should totally investigate this fucker’s laptop.

Its frustrating, because a Bush USA would have been so far up Ron's ass he wouldn't need those lifts in his shoes. But Obama and Biden just kinda shrug at this and let it slide.

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Honestly, you might be able just FOIA him and find some shit.

I will yet again say that your browser histories should be public information if you're going to run for office, or at the very least once you get elected. With heavy penalties if it turns out you're hiding anything.

I'm an elected state official in Florida at the extremely local level. Fuck off with that. People don't need to know my browsing history. It's entirely possible to judge someone's fitness by the acts they take in office alone.

It’s entirely possible to judge someone’s fitness by the acts they take in office alone.

Why would I want to know their fitness after they were elected? Sorry, if you're secretly a Nazi, I want to know before I vote for you.

What could possibly be in your browser history that you don't want people to see?

My browsing history is my business, not yours or anyone else's. You may as well start asking for my correspondence history, a record of the content of my private conversations, etc...

I understand the danger that bad actors posing as normal candidates pose. Trust me, I've dealt with it first hand. But throwing out huge swathes of otherwise qualified candidates because they aren't willing to share every piece of their personal life is not the remedy.

When you're going to be given governmental powers beyond a normal citizen's, it's everyone's business what sort of person you really are.

A browser history is not every piece of a personal life.

I am sorry, but it sounds like you have a good reason to be opposed to this.

Dude, I normally agree with you, but not on this. You're trying to set up a purity test for office. You might not use it that way, but the Repuglicans will.

Also do you really want to see your daughter's entire browser history because you raised her well, and she decides to become a civil servant? Or worse, have it plastered all over the news? Think hard on that one.

FS is a weird one. Did you know he didn't know that online coupons existed? like, at all? It started in a topic about Domino's pizza (yes, he never knew Domino's Pizza had coupons), and turns out it expanded to anything online, as he listed a bunch of websites that he was certain, just like Domino's, didn't have coupons. I'm not discrediting everything about him, but between this "privacy shouldn't exist" stance and "everyone else is at fault for me never knowing that coupons existed on the internet", I'm starting to wonder.

If she did something nefarious that the public should know about? Absolutely I do. I'm not why you think I would consider family a special case and I'm sorry you think that I'm that sort of hypocrite because I sure have never indicated I am.

(Also, I don't know why people insist on telling me they normally agree with me when they disagree with me, but it happens all the time.)

Nah dude, I wasn't calling you a hypocrite. I was trying to reframe it so that you could see how whatever her sexuality is would be weaponized against her. It's a bad idea, for people that "have nothing to hide.

Would you want the world to know all the porn you ever looked at? Cause I wouldn't, and from what I can tell, I'm into some pretty tame shit.

I wouldn't run for office. And if you're worried about that sort of thing and don't want people to know about it, maybe you shouldn't either. Because if they learn, you'll be in a world of shit of your own making when you could have avoided it.

So let's push normal people out of public office, and make sure to only have sociopaths who have no shame?

For example, I looked up a spider monkey's vagina because a book about sexuality my partner was reading said they have large external clitoris coming out of their butt.

I can bet you all my wealth that it would be used by Republicans to say I'm into bestiality and a sexual deviant.

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The result of this is that the only people who can get into office are literally perfect or they're very good at hiding their activities. You leave no room for normal people with varying levels of flaws and foibles and 'weird' interests to participate.

Why would only perfect people have things in their browser history that wouldn't turn people away from voting for them?

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We rarely disagree, but on this one, I think you're way off.

That's okay, according to @ASeriesOfPoorChoices, it's because I am "going insane." Gotta love an ableist. (I actually have mental illness, so I always love people who use it as a weapon.)

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What could possibly be in your browser history that you don't want people to see?

I'm sorry, do you live in the same world as the rest of us? Seems like half the country wants to murder gay people and thinks porn should be illegal and you can't fathom why someone might want to hide perfectly acceptable parts of their identity?

This would basically disallow any closeted gay/trans person from ever running for office, for example. People deserve their privacy.

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Congratulations, you've killed all political participation.

Apart from all the people who have nothing nefarious in their browser history.

Sorry, you're not going to convince me it's a good thing to find out I voted for a Nazi after the fact.

are you seriously one of those "if you have nothing to hide then you don't need privacy" bullshit artists? Jeeeezus I knew you were going insane, but this is full right-wing nutjobbery right here.

No, I'm seriously not one of those. I don't think anyone needs to see your browser history.

Also, why did you insult me when I doubt I've ever insulted you?

Worst take I've ever heard. Almost everyone has, at some point, searched something online that can be used to make them look bad.

I'm reminded by those jokes about crime writers having to burn their browser histories, etc.

...and then terrified that you've just made their jokes real. Fuck this noise.

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As he goes home and watches naked women and simulated sex on tv.

Things are only overly sexual when you learn that gay people exist, or a man performs art as a woman.

I'm guessing whatever porn he watches is a lot sicker than simulated sex.

Nah, he doth protest too much. I don't expect women are appearing in his "fantasies". Definitely finding Christmas presents if you catch my drift.

What a complete moron. Got to save some money for some kick backs.

He’s got his ass covered. This term he made sure Floridians have minimal insight into his spending as governor.

Sexual theater festivals? Gross. Where can I find them?

Sadly, you’ll have to go into the imagination of the Replublicans

He pocketing this shit and funding his little personal army with it too. He screams woke and takes the money.

And then gives tax breaks during July to go enjoy the arts.

What a dumbass.

I can see why. I hear in those Shakespeare festivals, they actually allow kissing during Romeo and Juliet!