www.fastcompany.com: Just beyond the walls of the Happiest Place on Earth, a lot of people are currently miserable.
Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would penalize schoolteachers for acknowledging the existence of gay people during class, is on its way to the state Senate with backing from Governor Ron DeSantis, inciting outrage among the LGBTQ community and its many allies.
4 comments:
This seems like the kind of thing that would be easy to denounce and would possibly make a big impact due to Disney’s large presence in Florida. I’m surprised that they took a stance on an abortion bill which I see as more controversial than just mentioning sexual and gender identity in school. Additionally, Disney targets school-age children and have openly had gay characters in films and shows, and are currently casting for a transgender character, so it shouldn’t be a big leap for them to confidently speak against this bill. We are beyond the point of “encouraging tolerance and respect” because clearly this bill is attempting to completely erase entire identities from public discussion. At this point I believe Disney is too big to fail and even if they never improve on this wishy-washy statement, it will not impact them significantly as a business, so they have the freedom to do whatever they want.
With every fiber of my being, I hate corporate Disney so much. Like I fully understand Florida trying to out Florida itself but this is ludicrous, like they can't even say the word 'gay' what the heck. Of course a mega conglomerate like Disney can't speak on these issues because it could upset a variety of different business partners and y'know, China. If they appear to be in support, their conservative audience won't have any of it. If they disprove, they'll look like they're homophobic. So the safest bet is to not say anything at all. It just sucks that it has to be that way. People shouldn't hide behind money to do what is right and if the people at Disney understood that, they would make a public statement. But in the end, them saying anything against the bill won't make any change. It wouldn't do anything, just like Disney isn't doing anything.
There is a lot of damage being caused because of bills like the “Don’t Say Gay” one. It is incredibly frustrating to me that people truly think that a bill like this protects anyone. Children will grow up with fear because they do not know any better. And children who crave representation will be left behind because no one wants them to be themselves. I don’t understand how we’re going backward. Corporations that are able to run the world like this are our downfall. I am hopeful that the backlash from the employees of Disney will be at least a little bit of a push to reconsider their stance as a company. The problems I have with the Disney franchise as a whole are endless. With that being said, I don’t think anything would be different if Disney did actively speak out against the bill. Change is slow and the effect the voice of the people has, has been overwhelmingly quiet recently. Hopefully, something positive will happen soon.
“If Disney strongly condemns the bill, the company would be painted as part of the Woke Mob from the right, and as hypocritical from the left”. This quote is literally so stupid. This whole story of how poor Disney must be paralyzed to say anything agasint a bill that is a literal human rights violation hides the real power and influence large corporations such as Disney has on the government. Its not like Disney has not changed legislation before. Just look at the copyright laws that they changed in order to keep Mickey Mouse out of the public domain. Since when did Disney care THAT much about its image. When Disney releases Pride merch during June, everyone labeled them as hypocritical. But that didn’t stop Disney from still capitalizing off of its LGBTQ audience and employees. Maybe its time to stop babying multibillion dollar corporations and start forcing them to take responsibilities for their actions.
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