Politics

Ron “Don’t Say Gay” DeSantis Thinks He Can Ignore the NYC Gay Community

He doesn’t realize that he’s not in Kansas anymore

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is scheduled to speak on June 11, 2022 at a conference in New York City sponsored by Tikvah Fund, a conservative Jewish group on the topic of “the vibrancy of Jewish life in Florida.”

I’m not going to go down that rabbit hole. Rather, I would like to address how this event and DeSantis’ reaction to the ensuing controversy shows glaring weaknesses in his anticipated run for the presidency in 2024.

You can tell that whoever is scheduling DeSantis these days doesn’t realize (yet) that when scheduling speaking engagements or events in Blue states, you have to look at the wider picture, not just focus exclusively on the matter at hand.

Because DeSantis, who famously signed the Don’t Say Gay bill, will be speaking in the middle of Pride month in Manhattan, a city with a large and vocal LGBTQ community.

To make matters worse, the conference will be held at Chelsea Piers. Chelsea Piers, an entertainment and sports facility is located, naturally, in Chelsea the epicenter of gay life in Manhattan.

The piers were originally built at the beginning of the 20th century as a place for ocean liners, as they were called then, to dock. As planes replaced ships for crossing the Atlantic, the piers fell into disrepair.

The decaying piers became a well-known place for gay men to hang out, especially after the riot at the Stonewall Inn in 1969 which is located close by.

The modern entertainment facility replacing the decaying piers was built in the mid-1990s.

And now a well-known homophobe will be speaking during Pride Month in Chelsea at a historically important location for the gay community.

Oops.

Naturally, there will be demonstrations. And several gay groups have cancelled planned events at Chelsea Piers in protest.

But that’s not what interests me. What I find fascinating is both the lack of foresight on the part of DeSantis’ team, especially since they want to pave the way for a national campaign, as well as their completely tone-deaf response to the clamor about this speaking engagement.

Here’s what a spokesperson said in response to the dust-up:

“He [DeSantis] has defended religious Floridians and their right to assemble and practice their religion in spite of attempts from the left to lockdown places of worship. The governor will always stand up for what is right and will not be deterred by the radical left.”

Not one word addressing the concerns of the LGBTQ community.

Um, someone needs to tell DeSantis’ staff that they’re not in Kansas anymore. Or Florida. Or any other Red state. You can’t just ignore the LGBTQ community or their concerns like you can at home.

Here in the Northeast, there is no sweeping this issue under the rug. When gay people say they are loud and proud, they mean it. We don’t just say gay, we embrace gay.

If DeSantis is serious about running for president, he had better learn how to navigate the different cultures around the US.

What plays well in the conservative south, is anathema on the coasts. Voters will hold him accountable for his abhorrent actions in Florida.

DeSantis and his staff should pay attention to how Chelsea Piers is handling the controversy. The venue is refusing to cancel the event saying that they (rightly) do not police the views of the entities who rent their event spaces.

Instead, they are donating the funds that they are receiving from the rental to “groups that protect L.G.B.T.Q.+ communities, and foster and amplify productive debates about L.G.B.T.Q.+ issues.”

See, Ron? That’s how it’s done. That’s how you thread the needle. You and your staff need to learn that technique fast if you want to run for president.

It’s a whole different world here in the Blue states.

Get used to it.