I Got into a Fight on a Florida Beach with a MAGA Man

My existence angered him

Photo by Rachel Cook on Unsplash

Do you ever see something and just know it’s going to lead to a bad scene? But rather than hide or avoid it you refuse to change your path to accommodate the oppressive asshattery of others?

My mom and I drove to her local beach in December. It had been hit hard by two hurricanes this year, Milton and Helene. There had never been such flooding or destruction on the island in recent memory and it was upsetting to see the images and video on social media as someone who has spent the past twenty years vacationing there.

It was our first time driving out to see the island as it had only recently reopened businesses and restaurants to non-residents. It was sad to see how much devastation was still in evidence, with houses torn down and others clearly write offs.

Two popular piers with restaurants at the tip of the island were washed away, and the sand everywhere on the side of the road was a reminder that only a few weeks ago the very existence of it was in question.

The small island is one of the few places left that had a bit of Old Florida charm to it, with older bungalows and beach motels nestled in amongst the bigger builds of recent years. There are no high rises allowed on the island, and many locals have lived there or owned holiday property for a long time.

The northern tip of Anna Maria Island, this used to be all sand dunes

My mom had a back injury after a rough year health wise, so there were to be no beach days on this trip understandably. What we could do was visit the beach café and watch the sunset.

Except our view was impeded. A large group of beach goers had set up camp in front of the café in the center of the beach entrance. Their chairs spread wide, adorned with flags identifying themselves as members of the club known as MAGA. They were blocking out the view of the beautiful beach landscape for us and everyone around us.

I expect to see Trumpers in Florida, I am not an idiot. But up until this point, I had had positive and kind interactions with every person I met. It felt like people were being extra…