Republicans vs Disney Free Speech

[Sparko]

I think the smart thing for a large public company like Disney is to NOT be political and potentially tick off half of your customers. Whether that would mean taking a political stance on the side of liberalism or conservatism. Just stay out of politics, both in corporate actions and in programming. Disney is basically alienating half of their customers with this liberal nonsense and in their liberal programming messages. Dumb.

[CivilDiscourse]

I think the smart thing for a large public company like Disney is to NOT be political and potentially tick off half of your customers. Whether that would mean taking a political stance on the side of liberalism or conservatism. Just stay out of politics, both in corporate actions and in programming. Disney is basically alienating half of their customers with this liberal nonsense and in their liberal programming messages. Dumb.

I 100% agree with you on this. The downside is that these days that doesn't always work. Disney stepped into this one because they were getting pressure BECAUSE they remained silent. In this day and age, many people INSIST that you stake a position instead of remaining silent.

[Sparko]

I 100% agree with you on this. The downside is that these days that doesn't always work. Disney stepped into this one because they were getting pressure BECAUSE they remained silent. In this day and age, many people INSIST that you stake a position instead of remaining silent.

Then you say that you are a corporation that focuses on children's entertainment, not politics and refuse to take sides. Same with hollywood actors that seem to just have to make political stances and demands. I don't care what some actor or singer thinks about politically. Just entertain me like you are being paid to do. Leave your politics for your private life, don't go making public statements and divide your fans.

[CivilDiscourse]

Then you say that you are a corporation that focuses on children's entertainment, not politics and refuse to take sides. Same with hollywood actors that seem to just have to make political stances and demands. I don't care what some actor or singer thinks about politically. Just entertain me like you are being paid to do. Leave your politics for your private life, don't go making public statements and divide your fans.

That's the thing. They are in a catch-22. It's often the left that demands they take a side. So, they now have to take a side, or they alienate that group, or they take a side and alienate the other.

[Gondwanaland]

I 100% agree with you on this. The downside is that these days that doesn't always work. Disney stepped into this one because they were getting pressure BECAUSE they remained silent. In this day and age, many people INSIST that you stake a position instead of remaining silent.

And not just outside pressure but direct pressure from their own employees. At that point you're not just risking action from the people buying and using your products but also the people that run your business at the ground level

[Ronson]

Then you say that you are a corporation that focuses on children's entertainment, not politics and refuse to take sides. Same with hollywood actors that seem to just have to make political stances and demands. I don't care what some actor or singer thinks about politically. Just entertain me like you are being paid to do. Leave your politics for your private life, don't go making public statements and divide your fans.

I recall Billy Joel used to avoid political questions, answering "I'm just an entertainer. That's not my territory." Too bad he didn't keep to that philosophy.

[tabibito]

That's the thing. They are in a catch-22. It's often the left that demands they take a side. So, they now have to take a side, or they alienate that group, or they take a side and alienate the other.

So you're saying they're in the Pilate's seat?

[Sparko]

That's the thing. They are in a catch-22. It's often the left that demands they take a side. So, they now have to take a side, or they alienate that group, or they take a side and alienate the other.

No, it's only the extreme left that is demanding that they pick sides. If they choose to stay neutral the majority of their customers will appreciate it.

[Gondwanaland]

No, it's only the extreme left that is demanding that they pick sides. If they choose to stay neutral the majority of their customers will appreciate it.

Actually it was a significant portion of their employees that was demanding they pick sides.

[Reepicheep]

As a Disney nut (I visited Disney World in Aug/2022, again in Feb/2023, and have two trips to Disneyland planned for May and Sept this year), I've been following this story closely, I don't know if anyone else here is interested in the developments of the past year, but in brief...

There was no way to eliminate Reedy Creek without passing a billion dollars in debt onto local taxpayers, so DeSantis instead renamed the "Reedy Creek Improvement District" to the "Central Florida Tourism Oversight District" and replaced the directors with five new directors whose only qualification seems to be that they are DeSantis supporters (one board member is a pastor who believes that estrogen in tap water is turning men gay, but I digress...).

Surprisingly, Disney seemed quite meek and went along with the changes. As it turns out, though, the last act of the old board was to hand over all their authority to Disney, so the new board is essentially powerless (it took the new board a couple of weeks to realize what the old board had done). There are many articles online (I'll give one example below) about how DeSantis was outplayed, so those of you who are interested will find it easy to find out further details. The new board is probably going to be suing Disney in an attempt to get their power back, but according to most legal experts Disney did everything by the book, so it isn't clear if a lawsuit will be successful.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florid...cial-district/

*******

EDIT: below is a more detailed article:

https://news.yahoo.com/disney-thwart...151743050.html

[Gondwanaland]

As a Disney nut (I visited Disney World in Aug/2022, again in Feb/2023, and have two trips to Disneyland planned for May and Sept this year), I've been following this story closely, I don't know if anyone else here is interested in the developments of the past year, but in brief...

There was no way to eliminate Reedy Creek without passing a billion dollars in debt onto local taxpayers, so DeSantis instead renamed the "Reedy Creek Improvement District" to the "Central Florida Tourism Oversight District" and replaced the directors with five new directors whose only qualification seems to be that they are DeSantis supporters (one board member is a pastor who believes that estrogen in tap water is turning men gay, but I digress...).

Surprisingly, Disney seemed quite meek and went along with the changes. As it turns out, though, the last act of the old board was to hand over all their authority to Disney, so the new board is essentially powerless (it took the new board a couple of weeks to realize what the old board had done). There are many articles online (I'll give one example below) about how DeSantis was outplayed, so those of you who are interested will find it easy to find out further details. The new board is probably going to be suing Disney in an attempt to get their power back, but according to most legal experts Disney did everything by the book, so it isn't clear if a lawsuit will be successful.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florid...cial-district/

*******

EDIT: below is a more detailed article:

https://news.yahoo.com/disney-thwart...151743050.html

Yeah I had quite a laugh when I saw that, they definitely outplayed and outclassed DeSantis on this whole thing.

[CivilDiscourse]

Yeah I had quite a laugh when I saw that, they definitely outplayed and outclassed DeSantis on this whole thing.

I also have to laugh about democrats supporting a large-corporation taking control of an area away from the government....

[seer]

339098142_1363065117820177_4589744060516199366_n.jpg

[firstfloor]

The other day, I heard him called Ron DeFascist.

[Diogenes]

The other day, I heard him called Ron DeFascist.

Florida Man Bad