Walk Or Don’t Walk Are The Only Signals Necessary At Crosswalks
I recently wrote a column about the NFL’s incessant desire to jam social messaging down the throats of football fans. I referenced that for the sixth straight year, the NFL has felt the need to preach to its customers by painting simplistic social messaging phrases in the end zones of every stadium in the league. This year, the league has provided each team with four options: “End Racism,” “Stop Hate,” “Choose Love,” and “Inspire Change.” Additionally, the phrase “It Takes All of Us” will be stenciled in the opposite end zone for all games. The only change from 2024 is that “Inspire Change” will replace “Vote.”
In that column, I wrote:
“No one cares if someone is gay or lesbian, but it’s time for the NFL to admit that these are alternative lifestyles, and they do not need to be highlighted in every situation just so the league can demonstrate its wokeness.”
“Fans go to stadiums to watch their favorite teams play FOOTBALL. Does the NFL really think that someone’s life is changed by seeing woke phrases stenciled in the end zone? This is the NFL bowing down to liberal forces and exposing paying fans to messaging they don’t need to or want to see.”
Likewise, pride flags painted onto crosswalks definitely need to go, and Ron DeSantis, the Governor of Florida, understands that as well. He has given multiple Florida cities a deadline to paint over or remove the painted crosswalks, which frankly should never have been allowed in the first place.
Crosswalks are public spaces; they are not political billboards. They represent the true meaning of virtue signaling, an empty gesture that exposes the overwhelming majority of the population to something it doesn’t want or need to be reminded of.
In letters from the state transportation department, communities are being ordered to remove them by early next month.
Communities across Florida have received warnings following the recent removal of a rainbow-colored crosswalk marking the 2016 mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. The crosswalk was painted over in the middle of the night by work crews.
The issue has been ongoing since the directive from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on July 1st, which instructed U.S. governors to identify safety improvements within 60 days.
At that time, Duffy released this statement:
“Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork.”
Last week, the Federal Highway Administration told The Associated Press that Duffy “has made every state receiving federal dollars responsible for identifying hazards on their roads. On Thursday, DeSantis reinforced those comments, posting on X:
“We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes.”
Bottom of Form
A statement from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) said the agency has a duty:
“To ensure the safety and consistency of public roadways and transportation systems. That means ensuring our roadways are not utilized for social, political, or ideological interests.”
It is uncertain whether other states and communities outside of Florida are being instructed to remove rainbow crossings. However, Florida frequently takes the lead in nationwide disputes related to what some refer to as the culture wars in politics. These controversies include efforts to remove library books that are age-inappropriate, a necessary effort of moral common sense, again led by Governor DeSantis and other Republican leaders.
The left’s arguments about such empty virtue signaling displays all contain the same old meaningless rhetoric, with the same old buzzwords. Rand Hoch, founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, whined that the stance to eliminate the crosswalks was:
“Clearly an anti-LGBTQ push on behalf of both the federal government and the copycat version from the state government. They’re basically blackmailing municipalities, counties, and states by saying if you don’t do this, we’re going to withhold funding. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
No, they are an eyesore that intrudes on the lifestyle of anyone who disagrees with what the symbol stands for. There is no precedent for the promotion of the sexual orientation of any alternative group to be displayed in public, especially on a public roadway. It is a distraction that can elicit a gamut of emotional responses, none of which are conducive to driving, or walking for that matter.
In Key West, Florida, state transportation officials stated that if the pavement markings in the historic downtown area are not removed by September 3, the Florida Department of Transportation will take appropriate action to remove them without further notice.
In a letter to the city manager of Key West, federal authorities also warned of the “immediate withholding” of state funds if they find any “additional violations.”
The letter dated Aug. 15 to Key West leaders noted that many Florida communities quickly began efforts to ensure compliance. However, it did not specify the number of communities that cooperated or the specific actions they took.
Key West is a notoriously liberal area, but it is also a very historic area that should not be polluted with politically driven sexual graffiti, which is precisely what this nonsense is.
Sadly, conservatives have to restore common sense to a world that the left has inflicted so much guilt upon that it is questioning its own correct and morally sound values. These Democrats are morally bankrupt, but they are great manipulators. They will lie, cheat, and distort in any way possible to achieve their goals.
The LGBTQ movement is a perverse perception of a life that Democrats and liberals think they have the right to flaunt in any way possible. Why are there no heterosexual crosswalks?
This is blatant discrimination that favors a minute fraction of the population, and despite the useless arguments that they promote inclusion, they do the opposite. They divide and destroy; they breed hatred and conflict.
These are not innocent unifying walkways; they are not just paint on pavement. They are multicolored dividers, disguised as something virtuous, that are protected by lying snakes.
