My Letter to a Disillusioned Business
Dear DeLosa’s Pizzeria:
I came across your place while exploring John’s Pass and couldn’t help but notice that below your sign bearing your name instead of mentioning specials or new items, you simply put the message: “Thank You DeSantis.”
Now this left me confused because to be quite frank, I have no idea what you’re thanking him for.
After all, you are located in John’s Pass, a place whose main website literally has been requesting donations and requesting more attention from locals and tourists because the local AND the federal governments has not done anything to help the situation with the excess of sand in the area which in turn has threatened the future of the entire region in the coming years. DeSantis since 2018 still has not helped John’s Pass or even made any effort to seeking solutions despite all the outreach from owners and concerned citizens, which at this rate will result in your popular boardwalk losing most of its water by the end of the decade and making fishing and boating practically impossible to navigate; which in turn will also harm your business.
I also find it interesting you are thanking him as I know you’re probably short-staffed and you’ve seen the Help Wanted signs scattered throughout all of Tampa Bay (saw at least six businesses within John’s Pass needing more employees). I’m sure its just a coincidence that as DeSantis has outright denied no strings attached federal financial help that could have helped people, parents, schools, and businesses in the midst of this ongoing global pandemic because of his commitment to appeal to the MAGA base, we’re seeing more and more people leaving the food and beverage industry altogether as the risks and frustrations outweighs the money one would make from laboring in it.
Over 20 million people have quit since April, and a grand chunk of it is from the hospitality industry. You might say this is not because of DeSantis and a consequence of Biden’s America----but the truth is that this massive wave of resignations has been the result of a century’s worth of inaction and poor decisions and poor leadership which were accelerated by the previous administration.
It’s also worth pointing out how DeSantis and his insistence in defending and copying Donald Trump and the MAGAgenda has also greatly contributed to the 3.6 MILLION cases of coronavirus as well as over 58,000 dead -despite- being a state with an overall advantage in battling the pandemic thanks to the weather, access to nature, and financial advantages this state possesses. I do like to point out that DeSantis has used his big government powers (which is something conservatives are supposed to hate) to prevent smaller governments from trying to do the most basic of actions to curb this pandemic, which I shall repeat, remains ongoing.
To add to the fun, we have DeSantis hiring many people who not only are against mandates to curb the spread and prevent additional illness and death, but have even campaigned against the actual vaccine itself. You know, the vaccine that Donald Trump and DeSantis himself have already taken. Our current surgeon general is decrying against the vaccines which have been proven to be effective. The MAGA crowd live and die by the words of their leaders, and with DeSantis allowing more misinformation, we’re seeing more ill-informed conservatives and Trump fans dying or being severely ill from the coronavirus across the country. 59% vaccination rate for the state is very sad, and will just result in more death as the weather starts cooling down.
So, what are you exactly thanking him for?
He personally hasn’t done anything to help battle this pandemic (despite actually having a good plan back in April 2020 before Trump putting on some pressure to try to win an election he ultimately lost). He hasn’t done anything to help John’s Pass or the natural environment of Florida entirely, he hasn’t done really anything to help small businesses (even trying to control how businesses should handle the pandemic), and he’s even turned down free money to help people while simultaneously shutting down additional unemployment benefits in a misguided effort to force people back into a labor market that has not improved in the least bit. All his decisions have been made to only help large corporations, his wealthy donors, Donald Trump, and his presidential aspirations. He’s not here for the people, he doesn’t care about you or me.
To be honest, some of this isn’t really your fault. During my short getaway in Tampa Bay, I have noticed that the political radio stations here are excessively nasty and full of misinformation, wild rage, and wild polarizing takes that spell nothing but doom for the country. I barely survived 4 minutes of Jesse Kelly’s vomiting rants about how the Chinese can bomb us at any given moment because of transgender soldiers (not making this up), so I can only fear how scrambled the minds of conservatives in Tampa Bay currently are after months and years of the doomsday predicting, fearmongering, and conspiracy theories. When wrapped in a cult, even one with nefarious aspirations, it might be hard to see the light in the midst of the dark picture they’ve created to scare you right into your pockets. But there is enough information, data, and overall evidence to prove what damage Trump and the MAGA movement has actually done to this country.
I’ve lost people during this pandemic, and I live with multiple high-risk people in my household, which made 2020 leading up to the vaccines being available a brutal hell. This coronavirus is worse than you could possibly imagine, this isn’t some flu that we’re better off getting accustomed to. And we have the tools, resources, money, and abilities to knock this out in the span of a few more months of vaccination, prevention, and other measures. But supporting politicians that continue to battle said measures in efforts to score political points is not going to benefit you at all.
DeSantis is not your friend; he is not trying to look out for small businesses and small job creators. If he did, he wouldn’t make any of the wild decisions he’s been making since Trump lost the election. Some perfectly nice conservatives, like the longtime security guard of my condominium complex, lost their lives because of the misinformation they were constantly fed. My security guard, perfectly healthy father was alive one week, then died less than a week after catching the coronavirus. The poor man never had a chance.
I am not rooting for any business to fail; I’m not here wishing you the worst or anything. But what I am saying is that personally I cannot see myself spending money on any place who continues to support politicians connected to white supremacist ideology while also doing everything in their power to make this fight against the ongoing pandemic much more difficult. I’ve spent all this time discussing the pandemic and haven’t even breached the surface of the toxic bigotry and racism that is embedded in the Donald Trump circle of politicians that support him.
I’m not here hoping your place loses and falls apart, I will root for your survival as we enter a new uncertain era of food and beverage off the heels from the worst of this pandemic which has decimated the industry as well as the minority communities of color that remain the backbone of it. But that being said, if you find yourself struggling mightily to stay afloat, you’ll only have yourself (as well as Ron DeSantis) to blame.
I pray that you see the light and see the dangers and consequences of your continuing support of a political party that has become ridden with supremacists, bigots, and selfish grifters profiting off the rage of their base. I pray that you see the bad news that DeSantis is, and why he should never be allowed around political office ever again come 2022. This isn’t a “Red vs Blue” thing, this is a “Right vs Wrong” thing. Florida deserves much better than this terrible man who continues to be a terror towards the fight to end this pandemic.
Do better. And good luck.