Today, the Democratic Socialists of America is issuing a freedom advisory for the people of Florida in opposition to the fascist actions of its politicians. We recognize the travel advisory issued by Florida Senator Rick Scott as part of a continued pattern of red-baiting and attacks against Black organizations like the NAACP in our country’s history. Scott’s “socialist travel advisory” is a mocking response to the NAACP rightfully warning people about the openly hostile laws created and upheld by Florida Senator Rick Scott and Governor Ron DeSantis that target African Americans, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals. 

While we disagree that the Biden administration is attempting to erase capitalism, the Democratic Socialists of America openly acknowledge our goal of replacing capitalism with a more just and democratic social and economic system. The billionaire class cuts essential social services such as education and social security, demands workers work harder for less pay, pollutes our air and water and drives climate change, promotes racist police violence, and uses a culture of hyper-individualism that puts us against each other and alienates us from the kinds of collective, democratic organizations necessary to challenge those in power and win the rights we all deserve. Reactionaries like Senator Scott have always opposed democratic socialists like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who fought for the civil rights and dignity of Black people, poor people, and workers of all races. 

Under the authority of elected officials like Senator Scott and Governor DeSantis, Florida has:

• Half of their residents living close to or below the poverty line
• Made it harder for immigrants to provide for their families by criminalizing nearly 5 million people
• Worked to silence teachers and unions advocating for better pay and better working conditions
• Banned people from accessing abortion and related care 
• The most disenfranchised citizens in the United States, with 1.5 million disenfranchised voters
• Banned minors from gender affirming care, drag shows, and discussions of LGBTQ+ issues and resources in schools
• One of the highest rates of mass shootings 
• Delayed evacuation during hurricane devastation that resulted in deaths and damages

DSA members in Florida and across the country vow to fight against fascism while we still can. We are unapologetically socialist because we share a vision of a society where we have democracy in every aspect of our lives: in our workplaces, in our economy, at the ballot box, and in our communities. Working people in Florida deserve better than Scott and DeSantis’ dangerous threats.

We know that capitalism is inherently opposed to freedom. A society where the vast majority of our lives is spent working for someone else’s profit is not free. A society where a person can only have food, housing, or healthcare if it is profitable for someone else to provide it to them is not free. A society where humans are powerless to fight an ongoing mass extinction and where our movement across land is criminalized is not free. 

They fear us because of the future we promise. Join us in the fight for our lives and against the fascism that promises to destroy everything we hold dear. Another world is possible.