Joy Reid claims Florida is a hub for Nazism, and a Tony presenter calls DeSantis a ‘Grand Wizard’
Jack Elbaum
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The hysterical rhetoric concerning Florida in general, and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in particular, has only been getting more extreme in recent months. From travel advisories claiming Florida is “hostile” toward black people to suggestions that the education system is a dystopia where children are prevented from reading books, it is sometimes shocking to see how different political rhetoric about Florida is from reality.
But none of these assertions about Florida are anywhere near as hyperbolic as what two prominent figures said over the course of the past few days.
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First, last week, MSNBC host Joy Reid went on a diatribe about the sunshine state. She said: “Florida is now home to one of the largest concentrations of extremist groups in the country. It has now become a beachhead for racial extremism, Nazism, open Nazism, and people marching in the streets even in places like South Florida and places like Orlando. It has become a kind of headquarters. The Proud Boys have a huge base in Florida.”
She said this while two of her guests, one of whom went to Harvard Law School, nodded along as if this was some kind of obvious truth. But it doesn’t take a genius to recognize this is completely ridiculous. Large white supremacist groups are not roaming the streets of Florida terrorizing black people, Jews, and LGBT people. There is just no evidence this is happening. We have occasionally seen videos of small groups of racists gathered, which is clearly not a good thing, but it is hardly unique to Florida and the numbers are tiny.
And as for the claim that Florida is home to a significant concentration of extremist groups, this comes from the Southern Poverty Law Center’s updated “hate map.” The issue is that the SPLC included hundreds of chapters of conservative parental rights groups who are currently objecting to certain material taught in K-12 classrooms. It is widely understood that these mainstream, albeit right-leaning, groups are nothing like the Ku Klux Klan they were included on a list with.
Second, during the Tony Awards on Sunday, one actress who was presenting an award decided to call DeSantis a “Grand Wizard” of the KKK. Seriously. Apparently, the Florida governor is just like those who supported segregation and lynched black people because he … believes Advanced Placement African American Studies should not include lessons on “black queer theory”?
I’d love to hear an actual attempt at justifying this outlandish statement.
But while it is clear to most that Florida is not akin to Mississippi circa 1920, I would not be surprised if many have now come to assume Florida is at least among the worst places in the country right now for black and LGBT people. But the real scandal is that this assumption, which has been spoon-fed to the public for months now, is actually nowhere near true.
For starters, Florida is among the most diverse states in the country. According to U.S. News and World Report, it is tied for the eighth most racially diverse state in the country, while two more comprehensive measures of diversity rank Florida at No. 7 and No. 9.
It also has remarkably low rates of hate crimes. As I’ve previously documented, it has significantly lower rates of race-based and anti-LGBT hate crimes than the liberal hubs of New York and California. Racial minorities also enjoy favorable economic conditions in Florida relative to the largest liberal states. When it comes to education, it is consistently ranked in the top five.
So it is not only untrue that Florida is the Jim Crow South reincarnate, but it actually ranks quite well compared to other states. Florida is not perfect, not even close. DeSantis is also not incapable of signing bills I disagree with. He has on more than one occasion. The point, though, is that those are things that are sorted out in run-of-the-mill politics. The claims being made by the likes of Reid and the Broadway actress are something completely different. They are baseless ad hominem lies.
But, at the same time, I guess the fact these are the issues partisans are hyperfocused on indicates just how much progress we have made since the days when white supremacists really did occupy the halls of power and the KKK really did roam around looking for minorities to attack. Thank God we aren’t living in that kind of world anymore.
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Jack Elbaum is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.