DeSantis vetoes arts grants, seeing ‘sexual’ boogeymen everywhere he looks | Commentary

You’ve probably heard the joke about the psychiatrist and his sex-obsessed patient.

Every time the psychiatrist showed his patient a set of random ink blots and asked the patient what he saw, the patient said: “People having sex.”

Finally the doctor says: “You seem obsessed with sex.”

To which the patient responds: “ Me ? You’re the one who keeps showing me dirty pictures.”

I was reminded of that last week when Gov. Ron DeSantis was asked why he’d vetoed grant funding for hundreds of arts and cultural organizations throughout the state — something no governor before him had ever done. DeSantis responded that a few of the arts groups promoted “sexual” content.

Now, if DeSantis had specifically targeted funding for a convention sponsored by Playboy or maybe a threesome-loving Moms for Liberty founder, that might’ve made some sense. But he didn’t. He nixed money for opera companies, science centers, children’s museums and family theaters.

These are theaters that produce shows about Charlie Brown and by William Shakespeare, museums that showcase everyone from Clyde Butcher to Vincent Van Gogh. Yet all DeSantis could talk about was “sexual” stuff.

This man has … issues. We’ve seen them before. DeSantis spent two years obsessing over drag queens — even threatening to pull a state license from the Orlando Philharmonic for what he said was criminally “lewd” behavior, only to have his own state agents say no such behavior took place.

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Unfortunately, one man’s obsession has become a problem for all, as his crusades against symphonies and museums stand to damage the state’s quality of life and its economy.

The state’s own economists and agencies say Florida’s arts and cultural sectors generate nearly $6 billion in annual economic activity and support more than 90,000 full-time jobs.

Some people argue government shouldn’t support arts or culture. With all due respect, those people are nincompoops. Great societies have invested in culture since the beginning of time. So has every Florida governor.

Arts and culture enhance everyone’s quality of life. Art makes students smarter. Culture is a factor many companies consider where to expand or locate — something of dire importance in Florida, which has fewer Fortune 500 companies per capita than any other major state in America.

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Also, the money we’re talking about here — $32 million spread out amongst hundreds of groups — is practically nothing in the scope of the state’s $116 billion budget. (Seriously, arts and cultural grants account for 0.03%.) It used to be more and still should be.

If anyone tries to tell you that they’re ideologically opposed to government subsidies for any private organization, ask them about all the other subsidies this administration has endorsed — for everything from professional sports franchises and tourism interests to chambers of commerce and special-interest trade groups.

Apparently taxpayers should help theme parks and horse-racing tracks but not the Tampa Children’s Museum. Because … um … SEX !

Commentary: Budget cuts spotlight the vital role of arts in Florida

The bulk of the grant funding was slated to be split amongst hundreds of groups from Pensacola to Key West with none getting more than $150,000 and some getting as little as $15,000.

All had been vetted by state officials. (Are they sex-crazed, too?) And only the top-ranked nonprofits were slated to get funding, including local groups like the Orlando Science Center, Orlando Shakes, Orlando Family Stage, Lake Eustis Museum of Art and Steinway Society of Central Florida.

Statewide, the groups losing funding include the Florida Aquarium, Jacksonville Symphony, Sarasota Opera and Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theatre.

Those groups lost their funding to promote culture, but the National Deer Association still gets $200,000 to promote hunting.

DeSantis singled out Florida’s fringe festivals, including the marquee one in Orlando, for his “sexual” concerns, saying : “So you’d have your tax dollars being given in grants to things like the Fringe Festival, which is a sexual festival where they’re doing all this stuff.”

DeSantis says he vetoed state arts grants over ‘sexual’ Fringe Festivals

Such statements are meant to trigger a population susceptible to fear-mongering.

As a reality check, I can tell you that the last Orlando Fringe Festival show my wife and I caught was about an aspiring musician from Nashville. If you think that show was about sex, you should probably see a shrink.

Before that, we saw one about a man with cerebral palsy struggling to keep his family together. It was produced by a troupe that promotes inclusivity and features actors with real-life disabilities.

Did some shows feature sexual themes? Absolutely. There are also some shows I found simply dreadful. That’s the point of a “fringe” festival — to welcome performances without juries or censorship. Showgoers decide what they want to see. That’s art.

If the only thing you see at a fringe festival is “sexual” activity, that says more about what you’re looking for than what’s actually happening.

Most Americans rejected DeSantis’ culture-warring and censorship crusade when he tried to bring it to his ill-fated campaign for president. Florida lawmakers should also reject it here. They could do so by overriding the governor’s veto to restore the cultural funding they already approved.

But that would require the kind of courage GOP legislators have rarely displayed when it comes to standing up to the governor. Most have the spine of an amoeba.

So unless something changes, cultural organizations that have counted on this funding for generations — including children’s theaters and opera companies — will lose out. All because we now have a governor who sees “sexual” boogeymen everywhere he looks and yet likes to claim other people are the problem.

smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com