The "Stay Woke Florida" tour + Stop fossil fuel projects + Our town is divided + More

Jun 27, 2023

The culture war is hitting the road with the Stay Woke bus now touring Florida
- The tour is set to visit 15 cities throughout the state, bringing banned book giveaways, marches, and voter registration drives.
Opposing DeSantis
- The Transformative Justice Coalition and partnering advocacy groups are protesting anti-diversity laws passed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
- The group argues that DeSantis' policies target people of colour and the LGBTQ community.
“Florida is where Woke goes to die”
- Anti-woke rhetoric has been an important narrative for DeSantis, who has positioned himself as the champion of conservatives battling progressive trends that would destabilize society in their eyes.

Protesters belonging to the Climate Defiance group disrupted a climate change discussion hosted by Jennifer Granholm, the US Energy Secretary.
- The group aims to move the US away from fossil fuels and stop pipeline projects such as the Mountain Valley Pipeline and Alaska LNG.
- Granholm sympathized with the protesters and acknowledged their desire for change.
Washington deal-making is at the heart of those protests, with the Democrats easing regulatory roadblocks for the MVP project in exchange of support for debt ceiling deal.

In Norwich, Ontario, a small community with a population of little more than 10 000, is being torn over pride flags.
The Netherlands Reformed Congregation (NRC) church is at the heart of the community and is taking an active part in that debate.
- “The NRC’s website lists homosexuality, lesbianism and bisexuality as a form of “sexual immorality,” alongside bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography.”
A controversial bylaw
- “The city passed banned non-civic flags, including Pride and Progress banners, from being flown on municipal property.”
- Some argue that the NRC has been influential in the passing of that legislation.
A fight for secularism
- That influence is being denounced by citizens who believe the NRC is playing a role too large outside the realm of its church.

Kelowna requires permit to protest in public spaces.
Freedom rally participants claim that this city’s bylaw violates their right to protest
The rallies started at the beginning of Covid-19, denouncing vaccine mandates and lockdown