OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion
Abigail Disney took to social media Friday with a long rant targeting opponents of the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill in Florida as well as others who disagree with Disney’s efforts to fight the bill.
In a series of 13 tweets, she referred to Florida’s new Parental Rights in Education law as ‘culture war nonsense.’
Furthermore, she argued that the ‘majority of Americans’ oppose the measure and suggested that the only way to prevent politicians like Donald Trump from getting elected is for businesses to stand up for what they believe in, rather than remaining politically neutral.
Even though a Morning Consult/Politico survey conducted last month showed a slim majority of Americans support the new Florida law, she still maintained those statements.
Her grandfather Roy O. Disney co-founded the Disney Company with his brother Walt. The documentarian has no connection with the Disney family business.
Also taking center stage is Disney’s role as the face of a group called ‘Patriotic Millionaires,’ which includes a number of ultra-wealthy members who call for higher taxes on the wealthy.
The conservative activist and crusader against critical race theory Christopher Rufo made a threat on Twitter to wage ‘moral war’ against Disney and turn ‘half their customers against them’ before she made her comments.
After Rufo obtained footage showing company executives discussing plans to include LGBTQ characters in their children’s animation projects, the story broke.
‘Like all radical ideologues, the right wing has finally run amok and is coming to devour the hand that feeds it. Business,” Disney posted on Twitter.
‘For my part I am delighted. It is the business world that has been, either by act or omission, feeding the opportunist right wing to distract us with culture war nonsense while they rifle through the till and empty everyone’s pockets.’
THREAD/ Like all radical ideologues, the right wing has finally run amok and is coming to devour the hand that feeds it. Business. For my part I am delighted. It is the business world that has been, either by act or omission, feeding the opportunist right wing to distract 1/ pic.twitter.com/7okhzmFII0
— Abigail Disney (@abigaildisney) April 1, 2022
According to her, the backlash against Disney’s wokeness was the result of a small minority of Americans.
‘This ‘anti-woke’ right wing nonsense is unsupported by a large majority of Americans. In fact most Americans are offended by it and wish it would just go away,’ she stated.
Further, she claimed, companies were victims of right-wing activism that was fuelled by powerful lobbying and deep pockets.
In the face of a growing right-wing counter-cultural movement, she suggested that companies like Disney no longer need to take a neutral stance on politics.
‘You need two things to rule with a minority. First, you need to be constantly looking for fresh meat to throw to the minions, to keep them riled up all the time. That works until the herd thins (remember Scar in Lion King?). So now they’ve come for American Businesses,’ she added.
‘Right now, when it matters most of all, they will stand for those values with every fiber of their being. Yeah guys like Rufo can try, but Disney is so much bigger, means so much more to the American people than that little punk can ever hope to mean,’ she continued.
In Disney’s opinion, ‘minority rule’ requires the majority to be constantly riled up and outraged. In her view, businesses that up until now had been supportive of the right were turning on them now.
‘Until now, business has been content to do just that or they compartmentalized like sociopaths when they funded folks like Dennis Baxley who wrote the hateful Don’t Say Gay bill because as the CEO claimed, he had no way of knowing he might vote for legislation like that. Or else they have chosen silence.’
‘Their silence brought us Donald Trump,’ Disney asserted. ‘Apparently the racism and the xenophobia and the misogyny weren’t deal breakers. Their silence, or at least willingness to compartmentalize when it came to politicians who were willing to fight for their outrageous and multi-decade campaign to stack the deck against the American People brought us this whole raft of Trump wanna-be’s now casting about for new and more insidious ways to tear the country apart.
‘Perhaps the right wing has finally bitten the hand that has been feeding it superfoods these last few decades. This is a monster of corporate America’s creation. Until now they’ve managed to dodge the worst of it by feigning ‘neutrality’ –even when decent human beings were being actively harmed by right wing activism. The only thing that will work for business now if they want to emerge in one piece, is to stand tall for authenticity, generosity, joy and decency.
‘These things are kryptonite for the right wing agenda,’ she added. ‘So the cure for this isn’t hard. And it also just so happens to be the heart and soul of the Disney brand.’
The Parental Rights in Education bill has been the subject of much opposition since it was passed last month in Florida.
Proponents of the legislation argue that such sensitive subjects should be taught to children by their parents, instead of being taught by elementary school teachers.
The bill was signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week
Several LGBT advocacy groups, along with families in Florida, are suing to strike down the law – indicating an extended legal battle to come.
Source: The Republic Brief