Disney and Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill: Best for Business, or Betrayal?

What happenedHowever in recent weeks Florida39s quotDon39t Say Gayquot bill led journalists to reveal that Disney was not so inclusive after all and some are wondering if this is just the company39s attempt to garner favor and business from the conservatives of the worldThe bill prohibiting educators from mentioning numerous topics related to inclusion has garnered significant media attention It39s ability to erase LGBT people including students and their families from being part of the classroom conversation has been denounced by many as both cruel and outright harmful to all children as well as setting schools up to lose critical funding via lawsuits by conservative parents The discussion of this bill was expected What was surprising was the discovery that Disney had donated significant amounts of money to numerous politicians who supported this homophobic and transphobic billWhat is happening nowAs the news broke that Disney had contributed financially to this bill the ripple effect was intense and immediate Marvel owned by Disney released a statement quotWe strongly denounce any and ALL legislation that infringes on the basic human rights of the LGBTQIA community Marvel Studios stands for hope inclusivity and strength and we proudly stand with the community Today we pledge to continue our strong commitment as allies who promote the values of equality acceptance and respectquotDisney CEO Bob Chapek seems to be changing his tune He said that the company stands with its LGBT employees expressing that support through quotthe inspiring contentquot the company creates After an open letter from LGBT Pixar staff and their allies alleged that Disney had actively scrubbed quotovertly gay affectionquot and queer representation from their movies Chapek emailed employees that Disney would stop making political donations in Florida Many believe this is more about public relations than about a true change of heartMeanwhile Disney employees continue to organize walkouts Some are determined to regularly hold some form of consistent protest until Disney fires Chapek and funds campaigns to support LGBT people in Florida quotWe must make sure we have large enough numbers to be successfulquot the organizers said They added that they appreciate Chapek39s apology but there is quotstill more work to be donequot and suggested steps that Disney can take to quotregain the trust of the LGBTQIA community and employeesquot Statements by Disney leadership over the Florida legislation quothave utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA safety represented by this legislationquot the group declaredDisney fans have also been quite vocal with numerous websites and social media groups discussing their sadness at finding out that quotthe Happiest Place on Earthquot turned its profits into the promotion of antiLGBT propaganda and hateful laws that harm childrenNow whatWe don39t know what will happen next Many believe that Chapek39s apology and the ending of political donations is only going to last until the PR nightmare ends and people stop watching the donation logs Some Disney fans have sworn not to return to the parks or purchase merchandise as they feel persecuted by an organization that has created so many moments of joy throughout their livesWhat we know for sure is that this is another time in which a company seems to have painted the world in rainbow colors when they sought profits and painted right over those colors behind the scenes LGBT people are not pawns nor wallets They are people Millions of people worldwide When bills are created and politicians endorsed that treat any group of people as lesser everyone is at risk In this case Disney not only contributed to the direct harm and erasure of inclusion of many of Florida39s families and children it undermined its entire legacy as being a company that gave so many their happiest memories as so many now struggle to reconcile their favorite characters with the hate and harm the company has perpetuatedIronically Disney itself once taught us just how wrong this is Millions enjoyed the 1991 animated movie Beauty and the Beast with its delightful story about Belle a wellread young woman who has no interest in engaging with Gaston the ignorant brute whose selfinterest and greed shows the audience that it isn39t the Beast who should be feared and must be stopped but the one who prioritizes himself over all elseWill Disney become educated and choose love or will the company continue to act selfishly by treating LGBT people like lesser individuals Millions will continue to watchClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Disney and Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill: Best for Business, or Betrayal?

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Kryss Shane

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Disney and Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill: Best for Business, or Betrayal?

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