Naples FL is the seat of Collier County. It abuts the Gulf of Mexico and extends inland, occupying a geographic footprint about the size of Rhode Island. Despite the obvious opulence and seemingly cosmopolitan nature of a significant sections of the County, it is a deeply red place in an increasingly reactionary state. Florida's current governor, Ron DeSantis, is presently seeking to mount a campaign for the Presidency. He beats his chest at every conceivable opportunity declaring that Florida is "Where Woke Comes to Die!" He has a super-majority in the Florida legislature that has passed many DeSantis-inspired bills, e.g., one that would allow a single prude of a parent to cause books or other materials found to be "offensive" to be removed from school media centers and sent into a purgatory condition from which they might never emerge. Billions are being siphoned off from the public schools -- a critical ingredient of the American success story -- to reimburse "classical academies" and home schooling that are frequently fig leafs covering rigid religious and political indoctrination.
After the 2016 ascendancy of Trump to the Presidency, I was one of several people who followed the lead of the courageous Karynn Cavero to form Collier Freedom, a non-profit pro-democracy advocacy organization dedicated to bringing more people into Collier County's decision-making arenas. Approximately 35% of Collier County's citizens are minorities of one stripe or another. Virtually none of the political decision makers in the County are minorities and almost all of them tout the MAGA line.
Collier Freedom has engaged in many actions, including several Women's Marches, that have drawn thousands of attendees.
I am proud to wear one of our tee-shirts.
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