“I guess it’s about priorities”: Redditor refuses to vacation in Florida over Alligator Alcatraz, gets accused of overreacting
A principled Redditor recently asked the forum if they overreacted to Alligator Alcatraz by declining to travel to Florida for a family trip. Their mom and brother responded to the declaration with every rhetorical trick in the book to get them to back down, and now the OP is looking for clarity.
The migrant detention camp in the Everglades pinged many an American's moral compass. Some have even dubbed it a concentration camp.
Is boycotting Florida an overreaction?
In a post from July 8, Redditor u/NotForTheKarma asked the class if they were in the wrong for passing on the family vacation as long as it's in Florida. They named the detention center as the reason, but didn't expect anyone else to change their plans.
"I don't want to get political in the family chat, but I don't think I want to go to Florida while those detention centers are standing," they said. "Don't change the vacation for me, but wanted to let you guys know so you can keep planning it."
Their mom and brother clearly didn't take it well.
"You're going to let him take your once in a decade family vacation away?" one of them asked. "What is you not going to Florida going to change."
"What is me being vegan going to change?" the Redditor countered. "It's about the principal [sic]."
Their family members refused to accept the premise of drawing a line in the sand. The family told them to engage in other types of activism to "make up for it," challenged the OP on whether their Florida boycott was total, and brought up that other states have prisons, too.
By the end, the real issue came out. The family accused the Redditor of caring about their moral principles (not to mention the many other human beings suffering in the detention center) more than them.
"So I guess it's about priorities," they wrote. "And I hear what you're saying about yours."
The OP explained in the rest of the Reddit post that the family gets together once a year, not once each decade. It's just the state of Florida they haven't seen in 10 years.
Taking a stand against Alligator Alcatraz
The migrant detention center nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz" drew heavy criticism from the left after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier introduced it to the nation in June 2025. The name comes from the "alligator- and python-infested waters" that surround it.
Photos showing bunk beds packed into tiny spaces surrounded by chain link fencing in what looks like a warehouse drew alarm and concentration camp comparisons. Reports from detainees about its conditions confirmed many critics' fears.
According to NBC News, these reports include a lack of water, extreme heat, giant bugs, wormy food only given out once per day, and a lack of access to medicine.
Whether aware of these allegations or not, many Reddit commenters took the OP's side. Plenty argued that a loving family would support a member's moral stance, even if it meant missing them during a vacation.
"An appropriate response to your message (something I would assume a brother who misses you would say) is 'I understand, we will miss you though! If you make up your mind then you should totally come! Love you' not trying to argue with you to make you go," wrote u/Perfect-Finding2008.
Some think that those upset family members may be acting out of their own shame.
"It’s very telling by the push back that your boundaries are not being respected. I’ve been and am often in the same situation with my family," said u/downto_marsgirl333. "When people stand strongly for what’s right, those who don’t often feel like we are judging them."
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