<
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/08/orlando-florida-pulse-crosswalk-chalk-desantis-arrest/>
"As the nation reels from last week’s horrific school shooting in Minnesota,
authorities in Florida seem to be doing everything in their power to
re-traumatize a community victimized by a different mass attack. That now
includes arresting one protester, apparently for leaving temporary chalk
footprints in a crosswalk that has become a flashpoint in Republican efforts to
expunge pro-LGBTQ messaging from the public square.
Earlier this month, the Florida Department of Transportation removed rainbow
markings from a crosswalk in Orlando. There are rainbow-colored crosswalks
across the country showing communities’ commitment to equality, but this one
had special significance—it was painted as a memorial to the 2016 massacre at
the nearby Pulse nightclub, an LGBTQ bar where 49 people were slaughtered by a
gunman who expressed support for ISIS. At the time, it was the deadliest mass
shooting in US history.
The removal of the Orlando crosswalk was, supposedly, part of an effort by
federal and state transportation officials to eliminate roadway “distractions.”
And while it’s true that officials are now removing all sorts of colorful
street art—both political and apolitical—the overriding motive seems to be a
GOP attempt to use “safety” concerns as a pretext for cracking down on speech."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
