THE VILLAGES MIGHT BE TRUMP'S BASTION AMONG RETIREES--BUT WE ARE THE RESISTANCE

[tulipsandroses]

Confession time: My name is Marsha Shearer and I live in The Villages, Florida. Yes, that place: the place where a golf-cart driver was filmed yelling "white power", and made it all the way to Trump's Twitter feed, via a presidential retweet. We are
now firmly known to the world as the heart of Trump country, full of ill-behaved retirees—with a bunch of racists thrown into the mix. Even before Trump came along, this was identified as the Conservative and/or Republican bastion in Florida. Both of these descriptions are accurate, but they are not the whole story; far from it. And while this is the belly of the beast for those with progressive, liberal, left-leaning beliefs and values, I wouldn't live anyplace else.

First, that video needs to be put in context. What happened on that day in July is a glimpse in miniature of what it's like living in The Villages. Earlier that day, several hundred people met in the Square, the community's gathering place, to solemnly acknowledge and share the pain resulting from the murder of George Floyd. Poems and essays were read, community members voiced their grief, and there was a communal sense of loss and commonality of emotion and purpose. The hour ended in silent kneeling for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. People carried signs saying 'Black Lives Matter.' Mine said "Are we great yet? #Black Lives Matter." The other side of the sign quoted Martin Luther King; "Our lives begin to end when we become silent about things that matter."

Immediately following our event, a golf cart rally was scheduled in support of Trump and to celebrate his birthday. Talk about lousy timing. Several hundred golf carts took a drive around the Square honking horns and yelling support. That's where the video came from. It was embarrassing, disgusting, confrontational and sickening.

So there you have it: juxtaposed opposites, two groups splintered from one another while living and interacting in the same community. But that's only part of a complicated picture.

[link:https://www.newsweek.com/villages-florida-trump-bastion-resistance-1516719|

[marybourg]

1. Yes. It's all to easy to see things as all one way or all the other.

Nothing is ever as one dimensional as that. I too live in a huge - but slightly smaller than the Villages - senior community known for its Republican leanings. We too had a BLM demonstration. We too have trumpanzees who refuse to wear masks. But it's a wonderful place to live. None better.

[jimlup]

2. This is a microcosm of the nation

Thank God I live in the bluest of blue area in Michigan.

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. It's like a Trump rally,

the assholes steal all the oxygen out of everything.

[benld74]

4. College buddy visited Villages in a

Short tour of Fl way b4 Covid. He never saw to many golf carts out, trying to park, clogging streets before. Was amazed

[electric_blue68]

5. Thanks for your story, and context of the day. nt

[Awsi Dooger]

6. When I attend golf tournaments in Florida all I hear is, "We live in The Villages"

Year after year. The response from nearby will be, "So do we." Followed by a giggling, "Doesn't everybody?"

I haven't been flying in recent years but prior to that it was also remarkable how often I'd be on a flight to or from Miami and the people seated in the same row lived in The Villages.

The Villages won't be immune from demographic shift. Once it is no longer overwhelmingly Silent Generation the percentages will move. In fact, I guarantee it is already happening and that's why some of the entrenched bigots are stunned and petrified and throwing tantrums.

[Gothmog]

7. Keep on fighting

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Awsi Dooger]

8. Great string of tweets

Thank you for posting them