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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UFL chapter.

Florida’s road to fascism has few roadblocks on it, and we should all be worried.

The other day, in a political science course, my professor interrupted himself during class to qualify one of his statements about the United States’ treatment of indigenous people. Last semester, in a gender and sexuality course, my professor stopped students from speaking too critically about the intersection between race and sexuality. The most frustrating experience of my education has been watching my professors hesitate to begin difficult conversations about race, sex, gender, and discrimination; these conversations are critical to all students’ education because they encourage students to examine history and policy closely, which is a necessary skill to become a good citizen. Regardless, there has been an ongoing attack on academic freedom from the Floridian government, making it imperative to examine Florida’s increasingly fascistic policies.

What Is Fascism?

These days, fascism is used as a buzzword more than anything else. We all acknowledge that fascism is bad, but fascism gets confused with other political ideologies too often for the word to have consistency. The definition of fascism is rather nebulous, but there is an urgent need to clarify what fascism is; otherwise, the meaning is too hazy to condemn and combat fascism clearly and effectively. When historians use the term fascism, they’re describing governments like Italy’s and Germany’s in the early 20th century – governments that sought to suppress left-wing ideologies by uniting citizens under a violently nationalistic regime. There isn’t really a pure fascist movement today, but governments have produced policies and imagery that are similar to fascism as we popularly understand it. For lack of a better term, I’ll use the word “fascistic” to describe modern policies.

Fascism is commonly understood through Umberto Eco’s 14 typical features (fear of difference and obsession with a plot might ring a bell), many of which are recognizable in the rhetoric of politicians currently in office. Primarily, this article will focus on what has been described as “the fascist division of the world into binaries of Us and Them.” Essentially, fascistic leaders will divide the population into two groups: Us and Them. Us is a term for the “genuine” citizens of a nation who are threatened by Them, which is a term that describes the dangerous opposition to the “real” citizens of a nation. The nation, for fascistic leaders, is supreme; it dominates all other actors, including individuals. Fascistic leaders will claim that the nation is being attacked from within, that the vicious “Other” is attempting to destroy the traditions of the nation and pose a risk to the nation’s survival. They will justify authoritarian policies by asserting them as the proper means for disposing of the mercurial threat posed by Them. In effect, the victim becomes the perpetrator, the perpetrator becomes the victim, and any violence that fascistic leaders endorse is reasonable because it’s self-defense, rather than a first strike.

This should sound familiar to you. It’s the same rhetoric that several Republican leaders, like Donald Trump, use. And it’s precisely the rhetoric that Ron DeSantis is using to rationalize the wave of policies that impede education in Florida.

The Troublesome Policies

Three education laws that limit public education have passed in the Florida legislature thus far: HB 1557, HB 7, and SB 7044. On February 21, HB 999 was filed in the Florida Senate. 

HB 1557, the Parental Rights in Education Act, prohibits instructors from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity to children in grades K-3. After third grade, these subjects are to be taught in accordance with the children’s developmental progress. The law seems reasonable – after all, parents have a right to raise their children in whichever way they like – but closer inspection reveals its danger. The terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are not defined by the law. The vague wording intentionally makes it difficult for educators to determine whether instructional materials violate the law. For example, can teachers introduce children to books that acknowledge the existence of heterosexual or homosexual relationships? Can teachers introduce books that acknowledge gender identity at all? Moreover, schools and parents are responsible for enforcement of the law; it instructs schools to create complaint forms for parents to voice their concerns about instruction. If the issue isn’t resolved internally, parents may appeal to the Florida Department of Education or sue the school in court. Schools seek to shield themselves from legal liability. Undoubtedly, the impact of the law is that any teacher that a parent complains about for violating this statute would face disciplinary action ranging from job termination to revocation of their teaching license.

HB 7 prohibits schools and businesses from instructing students and employees about race or sex. The law, intended to stop teachers from teaching about critical race theory, would inhibit discussions about slavery, segregation, systemic racism and gender discrimination. Educators face disciplinary action for violating this law and state schools face loss of funding if they violate the statute. This encourages self-censorship by educators, which causes students to miss out on pivotal discussions about racial justice and gender discrimination. The part of the law that prohibits such instruction at colleges and universities has been struck down, but the chilling effect that it has left has remained. Professors, afraid of disciplinary action, restrict their own speech and students’ speech in discussions. Further, the state of Florida is appealing the injunction in court. Should the state win, critical race theory programs in universities will be in danger, which is unacceptable (especially because adult students ought to be responsible for their own education). If Florida wins its appeal, what happens to diversity and inclusion requirements in universities like the University of Florida? Will the University of Florida’s African American Studies or Women’s Studies programs survive?

 SB 7044, Postsecondary Education, requires that each tenured state university faculty member undergoes a comprehensive review by the Board of Governors every five years. It also requires that schools post a list of every book used in school instruction or available in the library so that parents may challenge them. Tenure, while not without its issues, remains vital to academic freedom. If professors are concerned about the review of the Board of Governors every five years, they are sure to censor themselves to keep their jobs. Allowing parents to dictate the books taught in the curriculum opens curriculum to be influenced by political agendas. Moreover, both stipulations encourage educators to stray from controversy, but some topics are inherently controversial. To gloss over these topics is to do a huge disservice to students, who need exposure to multiple ideas to discern their own opinions. Recently, another bill to limit postsecondary education was filed in the Florida Senate. 

HB 999, Public Postsecondary Educational Institutions, would require state colleges to remove “from its programs any major or minor in Critical Race Theory, Gender Studies, or Intersectionality, or any derivative major or minor of these belief systems.” The bill would also prohibit universities from funding any campus activities that “espouse diversity, equity, and inclusion or Critical Race Theory.” Core classes may not feature what the bill calls “identity politics.” This bill is a direct attack on academic freedom at higher institutions. If this draconian bill is passed, it will end the independence of education in the state of Florida by eliminating universities as institutions of expression and inquiry. The University of Florida would be directly impacted. The Women’s Studies major and minor programs would be gutted, the DEI course requirements would be removed, and cultural clubs on campus would likely be dismantled. The community at the University of Florida, which is emboldened and improved by diversity, would be fundamentally altered for the worse.  

Why Should We Care?

You might be wondering why these policies are fascistic. The policies follow an Us versus Them mentality wherein educators are proponents of liberal propaganda and seek to indoctrinate children into a cult of modernity. These educators are working for the “enemy”, who are brainwashed adherents to the “woke” crowd that wants to ruin the moral spirit of children by introducing them to such radical elements as diversity and accurate history. The division between liberals and conservatives seeks to otherize minorities by stating that their history of oppression is a fiction created to further a political agenda that wants to ruin the nation. Further, it primarily protects white heterosexual cisgender men. Disallowing critical race theory and queer studies allows white supremacy and the patriarchy to flourish unchallenged. It is no coincidence that Republicans have chosen to frame critical race theory as reverse racist or to accuse LGBTQ+ friendly teachers of grooming. These are attempts to vilify victims of systemic oppression and to victimize beneficiaries of oppressive structures. These arguments imitate the Us versus Them thinking characteristic of fascistic regimes.

Indoctrination rarely occurs when students are exposed to more ideologies. It happens when students are not given access to other perspectives, which is the effect of such laws. Moreover, this is the intent of such laws. They seek to propel political dogma, which is dangerous because it discourages dissent. These policies attack knowledge production itself. They dismiss the legitimacy of enormous bodies of literature and limit people to one method of thought. These laws don’t just teach kids how to think, but what to think. 

There is an endgame to these laws. 44 states have introduced bills limiting how instructors can explore racism and sexism. 18 states have imposed these laws. Florida has received the most attention, but this is a coordinated push for fascistic policies that would obstruct education nationwide. I’m not saying that the United States is going to become a fully fascist regime anytime soon, but we’re edging towards a point of no return. If citizens (especially young voters) don’t begin to stay informed about current events, fact-check their sources, read banned material, introduce themselves to uncomfortable truths, and vote, we are sure to hit that point sooner.  

Nadaroopa Saraswathi Mohan is a student at the University of Florida. She was born in India but raised in Boca Raton, Florida. Nada is interested in politics, women's rights, and literature. In her free time, she reads, writes, and listens to music. Her favorite musical artist is Mac Miller.