Except for Disney, tourism officials let DeSantis run amok. Why are they concerned now? | Opinion

This won’t be a laid-back summer in Florida.

In a timely blow to the ugly atmosphere Gov. Ron DeSantis has shaped and inspired, two of the oldest and most respected civil-rights organizations in the country have issued travel advisories for Florida.

Expect a hostile environment, they rightly warn people of color and gays.

The NAACP got the picture of what’s been happening just right.

DeSantis and the Florida Legislature are aggressive “hate-inspired state leaders,” the organization said in a statement.

They have banned books about Black history, white-washed curriculum to lessen the monumental suffering of enslaved people and abolished diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public universities.

For an illustration of how far the disgusting acts go, take a look at the photograph with this column of small Black and Hispanic children in Hialeah being used as props to hold up signs against critical race theory, a complex topic they’re not old enough to understand.

Blacks have every reason to shun Florida.

They should be aware of where they’re spending their money — and the kind of treatment they could encounter by emboldened DeSantis sympathizers and law enforcement.

“Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals,” the NAACP says in its advisory. “Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.”

Likewise, LULAC, advised Hispanics — and immigrants, in general — to avoid the state, where “racist” bills signed into law by DeSantis go into effect July 1.

The nation’s oldest and largest Latino civil Rights organization called their censure a “historic warning,” adding that a federal lawsuit challenging Florida’s jurisdiction over immigration policy and a community mobilization effort would follow.

Domingo Garcia, the Washington D.C.-based organization’s president, was on-point when he denounced during a virtual press conference I attended that DeSantis and state leaders have turned immigrants into “political piñatas” for “the purposes of getting votes.”

In the case of undocumented immigrants, any casual encounter could lead to arrest and removal from the country.

READ MORE: ‘Hate-inspired’ leadership: NAACP joins other groups in warning against travel to Florida

Tourism officials too late

Did anyone think the nation’s two largest minority groups would remain silent and take the Florida debacle lightly?

Apparently, the state’s tourism hierarchy did, leaving Disney World alone to battle DeSantis. Now, with the travel advisories, it’s rushing to perform crisis management.

Travel advisories are the kind of publicity that puts tourism officials in a tizzy because they not only resonate at home, but echo across the pond to European tourists.

So after they stayed silent throughout the legislative session, some are reacting to travel advisories that could adversely affect South Florida.

It’s too late, folks, to try to wrap a pretty Minnie Mouse bow on what DeSantis has done to Florida.

Miami, Fort Lauderdale tourism leaders react to NAACP advising travelers to avoid Florida

Their defense of the state rings hollow.

Oh, but “diversity is in our cultural fabric,” David Whitaker, CEO of Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau told the Miami Herald.

Should’ve been making that argument to DeSantis, not us. It only sounds like patronizing talk.

Where were tourism officials during two legislative sessions’ worth of the Disney vs. DeSantis clash over the “Don’t Say Gay” law that silences educators and gay children? Plus, if diversity is so us, why didn’t they back the testimony of experts telling lawmakers they were hurting gay and trans children?

The powerful tourism lobby left the LQBTQ community, Blacks, Hispanics and one of the state’s largest employers out there fighting DeSantis alone.

And now they want us to believe they actually care about the repercussions?

Too little. Too late. The time to speak up was yesterday.

Ever heard of the saying el que calla otorga? The one who remains quiet, concedes.

And there’s a whole lot more bad publicity where those travel advisories came from.

In fact, during the Miami Grand Prix, Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton used his podium to blast Florida’s LGBTQ policies banning discussions of gender identity at schools. He wore the rainbow sticker on his helmet he reserves for protesting in places like Saudi Arabia.

That’s how disgustingly intolerant Florida has become. We now play in the same league as homophobic dynasties.

The NAACP and LULAC have reason to warn communities of color.

Four years of DeSantis leadership has changed the state — and this week, the arrogant governor who plays cop, judge and jury to Florida culture is launching his bid to “make America Florida.”

Blacks, Latinos and gays aren’t the only ones who should be concerned.