Florida is a red state generally, although in the 2020 election, the vote was approximately 52%/48% on the side of the GOP, which means a large swath of the population voted for a democrat. The swath does not encompass Walton County, however, which went 75%/25% hoping for a GOP win.
As is true in most places, politics does not come up in daily life. You can conduct all your personal business as a resident—buy groceries, pick up some material for a project around the house, stop for some pet food, etc. You can enjoy a nice walk or bike ride, spend some time at the beach, have dinner or lunch out, chat with the neighbors across the fence, and politics will never be mentioned. There is so much more to living.
During the 2020 campaign, though, locals picked their teams and showed their colors out in the open. As you can imagine, there were some rather large flags supporting the Republican candidate, and lots of them all up and down the major highway (98). There were quite a few flags and signs for the other candidate as well, though, and there were yard signs championing him, sometimes beside a house flying a Gun Owners for ______ flag.
The comments section of every local Facebook group and many news stories became a raging battle zone, and I learned quickly not to read the comments. Do not read the comments, I would tell myself. And then I would, and then I would fume for hours, finally deciding to remove myself from all the local groups. It’s just best that way.
What became more critical than simply political preferences was how those opinions affected reactions to Covid 19. Spring breakers were here by the thousands with no regard for themselves, much less local residents. After an uproar about them, county commissioners finally voted to close the beaches, and then short-term rentals closed, followed by non-essential stores and restaurants. Then the kids left only to find another area that would accept them. They weren’t making a political statement, of course, but their disregard for Covid and mitigation were echoed by people who were making political statements. Stores reopened and required masks, and those people balked. Restaurants opened with limitations, and those people balked, residents and visitors alike. Restaurant workers would wear masks responsibly and find their tips would be docked by people who rejected mask wearing. If they didn’t wear masks, they would be docked by people on the side of science. They couldn’t win.
But overall, there was mitigation compliance, just not to the extent necessary to totally starve the virus. Before tourist season really kicked in, I would shop at the grocery store and notice several people refusing to mask up or abide by social distance regulations. Then, when vaccines became available, these same people would show their ignorance in comment sections (sometimes I just can’t help myself) and call people “sheeple” and worse for getting vaccinated.
At the end of June, county residents were about 40% vaccinated, including children ages 12 and older. Vaccines are free and readily available all over the county these days, and still, the majority are saying no thank you. Add to that the thousands of visitors, most from states with low vaccination rates, and we’re sitting ducks—and it all comes down to politics.
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What’s it like to live here? It can be a joy, but sometimes politics and politically inspired behavior rear up and howl at the moon.
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