Darlena Cunha
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darlenacunha.bsky.social
Darlena Cunha
@darlenacunha.bsky.social
6.2K followers 1.1K following 420 posts
Journalist, (NYT, Washington Post, TIME), against fascism.
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darlenacunha.bsky.social
Gainesville No kings
October 18, 2025 at 4:02 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
2000+ at Gainesville’s No Kings.
No kings No kings No kings No kings
October 18, 2025 at 3:59 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Gainesville’s Labor Day protest
September 1, 2025 at 3:47 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Today I called my state legislators on the Alligator Alacatraz delegation team to tell them how happy I am about the emptying of the facility.

(It's important to call AFTER something you want to happen starts happening, bc when people who disagree with it see it, they WILL be calling to complain.)
Legislative Delegation Members Representative Chad Johnson: (850) 717-5022 Yvonne Hayes Hinson: (850) 717-5021 Representative Chuck Brannon: (850) 717-5010 Senator Stan McClain: (850) 487-5009 Senator Jennifer Bradley: (850) 487-5006
August 27, 2025 at 8:16 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
I called my legislators about Alligator Alcatraz in response to the temporary judicial halt to construction. The language and their Florida numbers are below.
A judge has put a temporary (14 days) halt on construction at the detention camp in the Everglades while the environmental impact can be assessed. Reference: NYT, 8/8/25, "The 'Alligator Alcatraz' Site Once Changed History..." Call the legislative delegation. Suggested verbiage: The detention camp in the Everglades was built in approximately eight days without oversight or planning on its effects on the wetlands. Per aerial maps, some additional 20 acres of concrete has been poured. I agree with the judge's direction to temporarily halt further construction while the environmental impacts can be assessed. Fill dirt, concrete, wastewater, biological waste, fuel spillage and other factors may pollute the water that flows to south Florida cities and waterways. Florida needs the Everglades. Legislative delegation: Representative Chad Johnson: (850) 717-5022 Yvonne Hayes Hinson: (850) 717-5021 Representative Chuck Brannon: (850) 717-5010 Senator Stan McClain: (850) 487-5009 Senator Jennifer Bradley: (850) 487-5006
August 23, 2025 at 6:58 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Today I emailed our County Commissioners to help save Lakeshore Drive. I'm pasting the language in the screen shot, if you locals want to do the same. Send to: bocc@alachuacounty.us

This is for Alachua County
Dear Commissioners One of the wonderful things about living in Alachua County is that we have leadership and staff who appreciate the natural beauty of our little Florida sanctuary. Towards that end, I hope you will support giving Lakeshore Drive the designation of a Scenic Road. Small adjustments can have a large impact. The protections of a Scenic Road are not unreasonable, but they would help to preserve the beauty and wildlife habitat of Lakeshore Drive. And we humans would continue to breathe more deeply and rest our minds while we are in that space. Thank you for your consideration. I know that each of you cares about our natural environment, which is, after all, our home. In community, Your name
August 7, 2025 at 8:43 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Make-up small thing: I emailed members of Alachua County Legislative Delegation about the cost of Alligator Alcatraz. Language below if you'd like to do the same thing, courtesy of the LWV.
Subject line: No accountability for cost of detention camps The state is concerned about financial waste, duplicity of costs and use of taxpayer money. The detention camp in the Everglades was built with no-bid contracts and lack of transparency of costs. Further it will take some 450 million dollars a year to maintain. The governor says FEMA will bear the costs which would take needed emergency services from Florida residents. The president says FEMA will be dissolved by the end of this year. Waste and traffic from the camps is predicted to damage the Everglades where millions of dollars have been spent to restore them and assure quality water for south Florida. And the cost of maintaining the camp does not have a solid funding source. This is not good use of taxpayer money. Some detainees have legal resident status and they are being kept in tents in the Everglades where heat is sweltering and storms are a certainty. I object to the use of tax money and the conditions. Dismantle the detention camp. Send to: Chad.Johnson@myfloridahouse.gov chuck.brannan@myfloridahouse.gov bradley.jennifer.web@flsenate.gov mcclain.stan.web@flsenate.gov Yvonne.Hinson@myfloridahouse.gov
July 28, 2025 at 6:27 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Google yourself. If you find your personal information has been gathered and posted publicly, immediately file with Google to have it removed. There will be a remove post option in the header and that is Google, not the site itself. My full phone number and home address was up on the Internet. NOPE.
Fast people search had my info Google approved my removal petition within minutes
July 28, 2025 at 1:54 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Protest at camp blanding, in starke, Florida
July 19, 2025 at 10:03 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Protest at Camp Blanding today. Well organized and I’d say 500 at least in attendance. One small thing. No internment camps.
Camp blanding in starke Florida Man protesting against turning camp blanding into a detention center Friends protesting
July 19, 2025 at 10:01 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
The contacts here are for Florida but the bill is up. Call your senators no matter where you are. Script in photo.
NATIONAL The budget/reconciliation bill is still pending a vote in the senate. We need to keep voicing our objection to our senators. National Legislators: Senator Rick Scott: (202) 224-5274 Senator Ashley Moody: (202) 224-3041 Action: Call our senators. Suggested verbiage: The budget bill passed by the House would harm your constituents and millions of Americans. While continuing to give tax breaks to the wealthy, the non-wealthy would get less health care, less food on the table and less services. It is a bad bill. I urge you to find a better way to fund our government by taxing the wealthy and giving services to your constituents who are not wealthy.
June 29, 2025 at 2:34 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Live in Florida? Call the governor and the ag nonstop. Something is better than nothing. No alligator alcatraz.
1) Alligator Alcatraz (actual term coined by AG Uthmeier) Gov. Ron DeSantis (850) 488-7146 (I was unable to get through on either #1 to talk with staff or #2 to leave a voice message. We should continue trying. Let the phones ring! governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida Attorney General James Uthmeier (850) 414-3990 prompt #2 (got through to a human being) SCRIPT: The state of Florida and the federal government have spent hundreds of billions of dollars to restore the Everglades to preserve the water quality for over nine million residents in south Florida. That money will also restore fishing and tourism industries. Building a high-density detention center that will produce millions of gallons of sewage, require fresh water, will produce industrial waste and will create enormous traffic on a single road will negate the money and efforts already expended. It is hurricane season again. South Florida already has difficulty with evacuations, adding to that the detainees and employees will exacerbate the efforts to get out of the way of hurricanes. A detention center in the Everglades makes no sense financially or logistically. Abandon the plan.
June 29, 2025 at 2:32 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Months ago, I joined Citizens Impeachment to help coordinate very specific efforts to get Congress to impeach President Trump. Because of this, I get action emails that help me use my constituent voice. I am linking their signup and picturing my action here.

citizensimpeachment.com/sign-up-to-h...
< Darlena Cunha 8m • Today I emailed my representative to demand her stance on the bombing of Iran and ask for her support of impeachment. Then I called her DC office and made the same demands / requests. Because I'm part of Cl, this is tracked for data for them, and they can use that to build the movement. It makes it less of a shot in the dark. Even though Kat Cammack doesn't care, I said my piece, and that will be recorded for other congresspeople to see when they are making their decisions and perhaps faltering on the strength of this president's abilities to make coherent decisions. It's important. Here's a script if you want to email your rep. And if you sign up for Citizens United below, they'll send these to you personalized so that you can just click and go. It's very well set up for a new organization. Hi there, My name is tktktk, and I'm a constituent of tktktk. The Saturday strike on Iran was a blatant overreach of authority by the President. Three Representatives (Rep. Casten, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, and Rep. Ramirez) have already started that it is an impeachable offense. I strongly support Representative tktktktk joining them in calling for the impeachment of Donald J. Trump. I request a response to this letter. Your Name
June 23, 2025 at 9:07 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Gainesville protest, half in the park, half on the street.
June 15, 2025 at 1:50 AM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
No Kings Day, Gainesville

#nokingsday
Protest sign Protest selfie Protest crowd Protest crowds
June 14, 2025 at 11:26 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Let's go, Gainesville
We the People 50501 MOVEMENT NO KINGS Saturday, JUNE 14, 2025 RALLY @ 9AM Cora Roberson Park 600 SW 6th STREET GAINESVILLE JOIN A COALITION OF LOCAL ORGS
June 13, 2025 at 2:50 AM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
This is like drake and Kendrick Lamar but they're both drake
June 6, 2025 at 12:07 AM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Equality Florida raised $44,000 I. Gainesville tonight!
My husband and me at the gala fundraiser Kelly t kelly Kelly t Kelly starting the damcing Friends at the event
May 25, 2025 at 2:16 AM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Lilly Dancyger lillydancyger.bsky.s.. "I asked ChatGPT," well I asked your mom and she said you've always been a disappointment
May 10, 2025 at 2:33 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
For yesterday:
Today's small thing involves NOT doing a thing. A couple days ago, I saw a post in a group. CALL TO ACTION: it said. It had to do with HB 1205 (The bill Gov. Desantis signed into law last week, making it much harder for citizens to get their initiatives on the ballot through petition, using fines, criminal charges and strict guidelines easy to misread, resulting in those fines and charges). The headline of the photo read: Group seeks to overturn ballot initiative killing bill with petition Now, that doesn't seem right, does it? This isn't one of those countdown things for one last ditch effort. Like, he signed it into law. A law specifically stopping petitions from changing law. So l dug into it. The photo also did not attach a group name to this initiative. It just said "grassroot activists." But the top of the photo says Florida Constitutional Amendment Network. So l googled them. I found an x account with like 40 followers that was started in February. On each of those x posts, they tell people to go flamendments.com Thats a fake link. It leads to a Google doc asking for money. With survey questions underneath. Sketchy. There is a Gmail address where you can send questions. So I wrote them: "Hello, I saw a call to action about HB 1205, that you need 200,000 signed petitions to overthrow it. Do you have paperwork or sourcing that shows that it is possible for a law to be overturned by petition, especially when that law is against citizen-led initiatives? Thanks!" The email bounced back. The address could not be found or is unable to receive mail. Big Mouth media is a progressive podcast network. That's fine but not enough for me to trust it. So i email them. THE EMAIL BOUNCES BACK Now, idk if this was an emergency network that was set up in Feb to try to stop this bill or if they are nefarious. But I know their Google doc is still being promoted by their x account. I know they don't have a website. I know they DID register as a political committee with the state, so they must be on some level legit. I know they wasted a lot of my time this afternoon. So: if you are looking for small things, make sure the people you are giving to or participating with are for real. If you are an organization or group asking for people to do something for you, make sure you have information about yourselves out there where we can find it. Make sure your emall works. Get a website, even WordPress. Anyway, attaching the photo and putting the link I didn't fill out below, in case someone smarter than me can tell me this is possible. Then I'll fill it out. Group seeks to overturn ballot initiative killing bill with petition CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT INITIATIVE PETITION FORM - VOLUNTEER Amendment Information Ballot Title: Protect Voters Constitutional Power Ballot Summary: nequre constutional amenament approval for any resincions on voters power to propose See separate document for the full text of the proposed constitutional amendment. Date Approved 03/20/2025 Serial Number 2504 Sponsor's Information (Return all completed petition forms to the address below.) Name: "orde construiona Amendment we work Address: PO BOX 830431 Miami, FL 33283 Voter's intormation am a recistered voter of Florida and hereby petition the secretary of state to place the above proposed amendment to ine rionda constution on the ballot in te general election HB1205, sponsored by Jenna Persons-Mulicka, passed through the Florida legislature and immediately signed by Governor Ron DeSantis. The bill adds significant barriers to citizens ballot initiatives to amend the state constitution on top of the existing super majority requirement for passing. Critics say the bill makes getting petitions for citizens ballot initiatives nearly impossible. The bill was session priority for DeSantis. Grassroots activists across the state have launched a last ditch effort initiative to overturn the law. They need to collect 200,000 petitions by July 1 to try and get it on the ballot for 2026. BiG MOUTH MEDiA @ Write a comment... (:
May 10, 2025 at 2:32 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Am I wrong or does he have gold toilets somewhere?
Personally, I think telling kids they'll have less toys for Christmas because of your tariffs while having yourself a ten million dollar military birthday parade is kind of a dick move, but what do I know Emperor's New Groove image my birthday gift to me
May 6, 2025 at 6:33 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Through happenstance, through showing up to things to fight, I ran into a reporter from Marie Claire France. And this is coming. My daughters and I because protest spans generations.

Also this is bananas!! :o
My twin daughters and I protesting in Gainesville, photographed for a story in Marie Claire.!!!
May 6, 2025 at 12:24 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
A while back, I bought a couple of pairs of nice used sneakers in different sizes bc I noticed a lot of shoeless people here. Today I had an opportunity to use them. It was scary bc offering unsolicited help is always super strange. And I'm not sure I did it right. But here's the story of trying.
Remember when I bought pairs of shoes to have in my car for people walking shoeless? I gave out a pair today. A woman was walking right on the shoulder of our black asphalt roads on bare feet. She was not in good shape. Tottering and very much longterm without housing. I passed her on my way to an appointment, pulled off and grabbed the pairs of shoes from my trunk, turned around and headed back toward her. There was no traffic behind me, and I expected this to be quick, like last time. I asked her if she would like some sneakers. She said yes. I asked if she was closer to a 9 or a 7. She said 9. I held out the sneakers to her. But she didn't take them. She said, and it's going to sound like I'm making this up, but I swear to God, she said, "I don't deserve them." I said yes you do, here, take them. But she still did not. "I am homeless and there is no place in society for me and I don't deserve shoes because I cannot live in society." (Again, hand to god, she said that word for word). At this point, I am blocking traffic. So I tell her to hang on, and I pull over onto the grass, get out of the car with the sneakers and walk to her. "I don't even know how to wear them," Just put them on, you can do it. They are yours. I have them for you. I looked at her feet and they were in rough shape. Injured. "They might hurt at first because your feet are hurt, but they will protect you from the road." "I can't take them. I don't deserve them. I don't know what to do with them." I put them down on the road. "I will leave them here for you, if you change your mind. You do deserve them, and even if you don't, the bottoms of your feet do. They haven't done anything." She picked them up, and looked at me. I had to head back to my car. I was late now. "You should take them back." "Just leave them there, it's okay. Or maybe you can trade them for something. I have to go." And then I told her I loved her, which was a weird thing to say. But it was true in that moment. "Come back!" she said, but I had to go. I waved goodbye and left her there, holding the shoes. And I have no idea what to make of that. If I did the right thing or the wrong thing. I don't want to force my shoe wearing society lifestyle on someone. I don't want to complicate someone's already complicated feelings about themselves or just everything. I don't want them to feel pitied. Idk if she put the shoes on or took them with her or left them there. But I think I am glad I didn't take them back, even though she asked me to. Idk idk. One small thing or maybe not
May 1, 2025 at 11:58 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
Today I attended a Marshall training for protests. This was specifically for May Day in DC, but there are a lot of good tips and it was a great thing to learn how to organize more locally to make sure everyone is safe.

Here are my notes:
Assertive Intervention: Access the situation: what's happening, who is involved Be focused, be calm, grounded, mindful of body language Choosing, do we want to get involved in this and how? Who do we need for support? Distract, Distance, Delay, Delegate, Document, Directly intervene…what are we doing with each scenario? Escalate: send to a lead marshall, let them know you need assistance First contact matters, focus on one person at a time. Be mindful of how many people are in each space How can I help you, let's make this work, ask people for their name, introductions, positive language. Over customer servicing folks. Use restatement for clarification. You said you are really passionate about health care, today we're talking about immigration, do you know how those are connected? Allow venting, sometimes people just want someone to hear them. Open ended questions, acknowledge the situation is bad. We're sorry you're having a hard time, that this isn't the issue you are focused on, whichever. Try to make them feel supported in the space we are cohabitating.
April 29, 2025 at 5:48 PM
darlenacunha.bsky.social
This includes the "waiting for democracy to work" model the democrats are employing as judges get arrested in court rooms.
Cassie Pritchard • @hecubian _devil Follow Reactionaries love to be like "no, dude, the hierarchical, patriarchal state is totally gonna work this time. We just need to exterminate more deviants. Just one more minority group, bro, you know I'm good for it. Come on man it's gonna work this time!" Cassie Pritchard • @hecubian d....5h S •*• "No, dude, all the bad stuff that happened wasn't because the hegemony is bad. The hegemony is good! It just keeps being subverted by deviants! We're gonna get rid of them this time tho and then society will finally work!" 3,000 years of Fell For It Again. Incredible brains t18 © 66 凤山 Cassie Pritchard © @hecubian d...•5h © .** Like on a fundamental level it's just amazing to me that humans have such an infinite capacity to keep falling for it
April 25, 2025 at 5:15 PM