2 groups cancel Orlando conventions as worries over political climate grow

Good point. Some posters on here think that everyone in the country wants drag shows for kids and books about graphic gay sex in elementary school libraries. Believe it or not some people don't like that. Crazy I know.

 

Just like DeSantis fudged the Covid numbers to make sure they were in his favor.

 

I would say, up or down, let’s look at what they mean. Which is why I was saying, let’s see 2023. My whole point when this started was “if there’s a DeSantis impact, 2023 is where it will be seen”. Doesn’t mean other factors are meaningless, good or bad. You could have a year where they went down 5 percent for FL but tourism nationally went down 20, in that case it’s probably not Ron, maybe even the opposite to your point. If nationally they went up 20 and Fl went up 2 percent, then why? Even for the numbers you posted for 2022, how does that compare to other tourism states? Maybe Florida over-performed, maybe it was under, I didn’t bother to look because it didn’t matter for what I was saying. His impact wouldn’t have been much in 2022. That’s all.

 

Show some pre-Covid numbers if you’re trying to make a point.

 

Law enforcement doesn't "report" hate crimes per se though. Hate crimes are afforded that status after the fact.
Not sure that is really a factor.

 

Ok... But i think when you are talking about an almost infinitesimal small percentage the point still remains. It also shows that hate crimes against religious groups are higher than your article admitted.

And when it comes to the trans subject the number is zero according to the data from that article.

 

‘Consistently Inconsistent’: Thousands of law enforcement agencies fail to provide hate crime data to the FBI

 

This is the definition of lazy. You tried to make the point that the numbers only went up because covid numbers were down obviously. So it's on you to produce them from before. We all know why you aren't producing them. Just want to see if you actually will do it.

 

Do it yourself! You’re the one who brought it up. My gosh!

 

Wow, you sure went down the middle with the SPLC LOL. Real neutral source there lol. They site agencies not reporting some hate crimes in 2020. Wonder what happened in 2020 to cause that to happen?

 

I know the answer. Since you claimed it only went up because of covid I said prove it. So prove it. I know you know the answer you just don't want to have to prove you are wrong. Too funny.

 

The same reasons it has experienced high growth rates for the last several decades I would guess

 

That certainly may be true with respect to certain smaller conventions. But Orlando specifically competes with Las Vegas for the really big conventions; those that will bring in thousands of people. That's why the convention center is so large.

Those groups are not usually ideological one way or the other. But if Florida keeps getting more and more of a reputation for being hostile to LGBTQ or Black members, you may lose that big business. Not because the group is ideological per se but because the bookers will not want to pick a place where some decent portion of who they are trying to book for do not feel safe.

I don't think were at that point yet, but we should not presume that a group that cancels is doing so out of ideological objection as opposed to simply trying to find a place that will appeal to all their potential attendees. You have the Governor on TV daily telling a portion of population they are not welcome here and should feel unsafe here.

Florida still has a gigantic advantage in that a lot of people are uncomfortable with Las Vegas and especially convention groups with families with young children love to be near Disney and the other parks, so that the spouse and children can go over to the parks during the convention. That is a gigantic selling point of the Orlando Convention Center.

It will be very hard to overcome that advantage. But it sure seems that current political leadership is trying to do everything in their power to create a hostile atmosphere

 

Yeah, it is frightening how unsafe Florida is right now. I am surprised Biden hasn't sent in helicopters and FEMA to save all of the refugees that are still here.

 

They haven't led the nation in growth rate since 1957. So yeah, the "high growth rates" isn't quite the same as the Highest. So, what led to FL being number 1?

 

The source isn't invalid. Hate crimes in Florida require a reclassification after the fact. That would be public record. No one can really be hiding any data. The media could dig it up.

And I believe 2021 was the year of the bad reporting when the FBI moved to their new database. Previous to that the reporting nationally was over 80%.

Do we have anything saying that the 2022 data and current data from April of 202e are "invalid"?

 

This is hardly some indictment on DeSantis.

From your link:
There are 3,300 fewer participating agencies than in 2020, including agencies in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix and, essentially, the entire states of Florida and California.

Agency underreporting is a problem. But its a global problem.

 

Where do you find these weirdo sites? You probably live in the dark web.

 

Depends on how you measure it. % or absolute numbers. I’m sorry but you made an assertion without supporting evidence so I’m not sure of the reasons anymore than you are. The data I find suggest that might not be the case:
US population by year, race, age, ethnicity, & more
Between 2010 and 2021, Texas had the largest growth with 4.3 million more residents
And from the article where I suppose you might have gotten the 1957 from:
Why This Is America's Fastest-Growing State
I hate being cold,” says Kathy Bonini, 42, who grew up in Pennsylvania but moved to Florida in 2011. “Everybody loves sunshine and palm trees.”
Economist Sean Snaith says there are factors other than the weather that draw people to Florida, including a robust labor market and the fact that, unlike most U.S. states, Florida has no state income tax.
………………
So sunshine and low taxes are new?

And is Florida the fastest growing?
Fastest Growing States 2023 - Wisevoter
Seems odd but This site says several states outstrip FL in pop growth including ID and Utah (% growth).