I have news for conservatives: There has never been anything more important to Disney than making money. Anyone who's grown up in the vicinity of Disneyland can confirm that for you.
It's worth remembering how this whole episode played out. All Disney did was publicly oppose Ron DeSantis's "Don't Say Gay" bill. That's it. Companies take positions like this all the time.
But that unexpectedly provoked DeSantis into declaring war. Disney had no choice but to fight back, and every single thing Disney did after that was purely in defense of protecting its profits.
It's telling that Abel ends his piece with an approving nod about the fact that DeSantis won his fight to prevent Disney from "speaking on matters it had little business, and even less ability, to discuss." That's a pretty explicit endorsement of state governors waging vicious battles of revenge against corporations that say things they don't like—things they have "little business" discussing in the first place. I thought conservatives were supposed to be opposed to statist crusades like that?
Is this a revisionist history? The settled the matter a couple of months after DeSantis quit the presidential race. It's also worth noting that DeSantis' prior actions had the effect of unloading the bulk of infrastructure costs onto their neighbors.
Exactly. What is Disney supposed to do to prove their 'woke crusade' in this case, abandon the state?
Doesn't seem like conservatives won anything here, since Disney still has 'woke' policies from their point of view.
Even Fox News has woke policies like time off for abortions, health insurance for same-sex couples, gender neutral bathrooms and mandatory DEI trainings. It turns out that large corporations need these things to remain competitive in hiring and not piss off the vast majority of their Millennial employees in a diverse country like the US.
Precisely. Disney doesn’t oppose discrimination against gay people because it’s “woke” (whatever that means in the minds of asinine right-wingers).
It does so because it’s in a creative industry. The people who dream up villains like Ursula in The Little Mermaid and the guys who dance at Disney World have other options if their employer is bigoted.
disney's all about the money, and republicans are all about the money and christian statist crusades
"I thought conservatives were supposed to be opposed to statist crusades like that?"
Oh, yes. Absolutely. The government has no business "picking winners and losers" for any reason. At all. Ever.
This is all about protecting the children from Woke.
What's the irony level on this comment?
Depends on the scale. One to ten? Open ended? Logarithmic?
Cleek's Law.
https://balloon-juice.com/2010/07/17/just-another-failed-ideology/#comment-1893941
Woke! Woke!
Every time someone says Woke! a conservative gets a cushy think tank gig.
Woke! Woke!
Look at all the jobs I'm creating!
"I thought conservatives were supposed to be opposed to statist crusades like that?"
You mean like statist crusades against gay marriage? You mean statist crusades against reproductive choice?
Well, yes, conservatives *are* opposed to statist crusades like that. So are liberals. It's right-wing extremists who are pursuing those crusades. Stop repeating the MSM meme that these are "conservatives." They're not.
That Disney is a vast corporation devoted to profit seeking doesn't make it worse than DeSantis. That's how bad DeSantis is.
Disney wants to make money, which is why they have been supportive of things like gay rights, because that's where the culture at large is. Reactionaries want to use state power to put gay people back in the closet, thus reducing the incentive for businesses to support gay rights and shift the culture back in their direction. Pretty simple.
Yeah, that's likely not going to happen. They may be able to stop government agencies from treating LGBT people like human beings, but it's pretty clear that almost everyone under roughly the age of 40 thinks that LGBT people are OK and, as long as popular opinion remains this way, companies aren't going to go out of their way to discriminate against them either. It's really hard to change how people feel on a subject, and all the young people (except the creepy evangelicals) are cool with LGBT people.
There is an assertion that "DeSantis won his fight to prevent Disney from "speaking on matters it had little business, and even less ability, to discuss."
Is that supported by any evidence? Is there a single clause in any of the various judgments and agreements coming out of this little tiff that restrict Disney's speech in any way?
I was just coming here to point out that the latest episode of Doctor Who, now carried on D+ everywhere but Britain, featured a same sex kiss today, so no.
DeSantis has won nothing, he's clearly the one here who has "little business, and even less ability, to discuss" this, or anything really.
Was Governor DeDwarf invited to all the gay pride events at Disney World this month ?
Whyever would you think that?
I mean, they're anti-deficit until they have the power to enact tax cuts, as you have pointed out a gracious plenty of times.
Rhonda Santis is an insecure, narcissistic bully, just like his Orange nemesis.
Now where's that pudding . . . ?
They totally are, just like they are in favor of lower government spending. I mean, sure, George W. Bush had to grow government spending faster than any President since Lindon Johnson (who simultaneously implemented the Great Society programs and funded the Vietnam war), but that was only because Bush needed a lot of government funds sloshing around in order to implement the K Street Project. (Look it up on Wikipedia.) But barring exceptions like that, Republicans are totally believe in lower government spending.
Similarly, DeSantis is totally in favor of free speech under normal circumstances. The long fight with Disney was the result of Disney disagreeing DeSantis, leaving DeSantis had no choice but to try to censor Disney. But DeSantis has been unwavering in his commitment to free speech for Republicans.
What? Has Disney shelved their DEI and ESG initiatives as well?
They lost their battle with Disney, so are declaring victory.