Statement from The Walt Disney Company on signing of Florida legislation:

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Link to tweet

[Bettie]

1. I get that they can't just pick up and move Disneyworld

but they could be stronger in their condemnation of this dehumanizing bill.

[msfiddlestix]

2. yeppers. it sort of tells me, this tweet is just PR cover for them

[stopdiggin]

4. well, as a statement - it was pretty much to the point

now will the organization be committing resources toward efforts to repeal or overturn .. ? That remains a question.

[csziggy]

8. They should have lobbied against it before it was passed

That said, I have never been a fan of Disney World, since it was first announced. It demolished the environment of that part of Florida and pays minimal wages and benefits to most of their employees.

[Torchlight]

3. It's one beginning.

In 2017, North Carolina repealed a law restricting bathroom use for transgender people, hoping to bring back businesses and sports leagues that boycotted the state because they saw the measure as discriminatory.

Boycotts as a non-violent means of political protest and direct-change tactic is a sound one. All thing being equal, I have no reason to think it couldn't be successfully applied to FL as well.

[lagomorph777]

5. Yup.

[LonePirate]

6. I think we may be underestimating how popular this bill really is.

Anecdotal observations below.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have watched dozens of Tik Tok videos where average people have shared their thoughts on this bill. I have also read through hundreds of comments posted on these videos. I don’t claim to have watched even fraction of all of the available videos or read through the tiny fraction of all comments. Still, this is what I have discovered learned.

A wide cross section of people from various ages, races and political ideologies support this bill. From what I have seen, the bill has more supporters than opposers.

The parental rights labeling of the bill has been very successful in convincing people that the state is protecting parents.

A surprisingly large number of LGBTQIA+ people support the bill. They seem to think the bill is focused on only K-3 kids whom they believe should not be receiving any sex education. The fact that the bill has nothing to do with sex education at all is completely absent from these opinions.

The fact that the Republicans in the legislature voted against an amendment to focus the bill on sex education rather than sexual orientation and gender identity is almost never mentioned even though it perfectly illustrates the true goal of the legislation.

The intentionally broad and all encompassing language in the bill is not understood at all as few people have thought through the consequences of such broad language. How do pregnant teachers explain their pregnancies? Why is one teacher called Mrs. Jones and another one is Miss Jones? Why are children of same sex parents being treated differently or excluded from some activities? Why are LGBT teachers suddenly going back into the closet? I am sure there are many other unintended/intended results of this bill which we will see in the years ahead.

The right wing is out in force to label anyone a “groomer” if they say a word that is even slightly in opposition to this bill. The Q is strong with the right and the left is failing at drafting a counter response.

Other states are rapidly drafting similar bills as the right sees this as a winning culture war issue for them. This is undoubtedly the top of the iceberg and we on the left seem unprepared to respond effectively. Disney dropping the ball here is proof that we need to improve and expand our efforts immediately.

[PortTack]

10. You and I are seeing very different sides of TikTok. All I see are ppl protesting, walking out of

Schools and college classrooms. One classroom protest yelled some gqp candidate right out of the room.

The protests against it are massive and are going to get bigger.

[Sympthsical]

18. You're in a bubble then

I read quite a bit of the other side, and they are loving this bill. It hits at parental rights and education in ways that played a role in flipping Virginia last year. It is being referred to as the anti-grooming bill, and that characterization has taken hold.

People need to step outside of online activism, Twitter, and tik tok and observe what actual real life people are thinking and saying about things.

When Florida Democratic primary voters were polled about the bill, 52% supported it vs 36% opposed.

When Democratic primary voters want it, you have to start wondering why the media you're consuming is so out of step with reality.

I think November is going to be a bloodbath. Our side has no idea what's going on in the country, just what's on Twitter, what gets curated and allowed inside the bubble.

It's going to be the death of us.

[PortTack]

21. That's your opinion..your entitled to it. No, I'm not in a bubble

These are just 2 of pages of video clips of protests all over the state

Kids, teachers, adults do not agree with this ridiculous legislation

And as it turns out CRT was NOT a determining factor in the VA governor race

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/11/4/22761168/virginia-governor-glenn-youngkin-critical-race-theory

[Sympthsical]

23. Virginia was about way more than CRT

That was just the simplified explanation people reached for because lazy. Thinking about issues and understanding perspectives is hard, so the media just reduce everything down to Issue of the Week narratives.

And again, "Well, I see clips on the internet!" is not really an answer. Certainly not to my comment where people's online experience is often curated, either by themselves, closed spaces they inhabit, or by algorithms that determine what they'd like to see.

Taking online things and blanketing them to the rest of the world is the exact opposite of good practices when trying to determine what people are thinking, saying, and doing. It all devolves into, "I didn't know anyone who voted for Nixon." Just as Trump winning was such a surprise. Why was it a surprise? I wasn't surprised, because I'd been, you know, reading places that weren't telling me what I wanted to hear all the time.

It's a trap, and we'd better wiggle ourselves out of it sooner rather than later if we don't want this country to devolve further.

[PortTack]

26. Did you open the VOX link that debunked the CRT theory and the VA election?

[SoonerPride]

17. The algorithms are feeding you right wing feeds

That’s what

[LonePirate]

20. Not really. I'd say it's been about 60/40 in favor of the bill.

Most but not all of the vids being presented to me are from LGBT people who have stitched a vid from someone who supports it. I don't have many that are only direct right wing nutjobs praising the bill. I have some centrists filtering in but most of my feed is from people I would have thought would have been against the bill. I have seen a lot of videos from people on the left who are denouncing the bill and are providing logically sound reasons for doing so. Those people seem to be the minority, though not by much.

[spanone]

7. ...K&R...

[Doremus]

9. A little late.

A hard no *before* it was passed might have had some effect but this is pathetic and has much more to do with the ire of their employees than the actual bill.

Fuck Disney.

[Coventina]

11. I'm at work and can't see tweets. Would someone please post the statement?

I'd really appreciate it!!

[gratuitous]

14. The tweet

Statement from The Walt Disney Company on signing of Florida legislation:

"Florida's HB 1557, also known as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law. Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that. We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of the LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country."

[Coventina]

16. Thank you!!!

[Justice]

12. They don't even say will not make contributions to any legislator who supported it.

[gratuitous]

13. Why would the legislature repeal the bill?

They went to so much trouble to deny people's basic humanity. What makes Disney think they're going to repeal it before it's struck down by a court?

And until some court hands down a final judgment against this terrible piece of bigotry, will Disney honor this law, or will Disney defy it? Not exactly a profile in courage here, if you ask me.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

15. How would Disney

honor or defy it? It relates to schools, not theme parks.

[gratuitous]

22. Then why are they even responding to it?

Nothing they can do, or nothing they're willing to do? Is Disney powerless for once?

[SickOfTheOnePct]

24. There is plenty they can do

Donate money to groups that are working to overturn the law, provide amicus briefs for any lawsuits, refuse to donate money to anyone who supported/voted for the law, etc.

But you asked if they would defy the law, and since the law applies only to schools, they aren't in any position to defy it.

[Marius25]

19. Disney doesn't care. Screw them.

They will do nothing about this.