The Lunacy of Censoring “Ladies and Gentlemen”: Florida Looks to Punish Disney

Featured Image Courtesy: Washington Post

“Damas y caballeros, I have an emergency announcement. Please be on the lookout for a living boy. Answers to the name of Miguel. Earlier tonight he ran away from his family.”

Such is the line in Coco from 2017 when the Land of los Muertos is notified that a living boy has unacceptably fled into their city. Today it feels like The Walt Disney Company has ran away from their customers and from common sense. Why? Because the opening line of this statement in the movie Coco, itself only five years old, is already dated. The terms “damas y caballeros” is the Spanish equivalent of “ladies and gentlemen,” and that is now a “gendered greeting” that is struck from the Disney Parks.

Welcome to Disneylalaland where everyone has officially gone nuts.

SCOOP: Disney diversity and inclusion manager Vivian Ware says the company has eliminated all mentions of "ladies," "gentlemen," "boys," and "girls" in its theme parks in order to create "that magical moment" for children who do not identify with traditional gender roles. pic.twitter.com/OWsGTUoeCA

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) March 29, 2022

Can we all just admit that if you live in a world in which the terms “lady,” “gentleman,” “boy,” and “girl” are considered offensive or off-limits, you’re in a cult? And if we can admit that, would it not stand to reason that the Disney Parks are entering into a cult-like quasi-reality? After all, when you go to Walt Disney World today, you’re almost certain to be called “friend” by cast members hundreds of times a day as a result of not being able to call you “sir,” “ma’am,” or any other term that somehow recognizes the biological facts humanity has observed since its very beginning. By about the thirtieth time you are called “friend,” it becomes nauseating. By the seventieth time, you know you’ve left the reservation. Incorporating manufactured language that is contrary to reality will do that to you. It makes you wonder why Disney continues to have gendered restrooms or why they have gendered clothing… but honestly, I’m scared to bring it up lest they create a new campaign to strip all of that away as well.

I understand the need to be sensitive with assuming someone’s sex or gender. However, striking terms like “boy” and “girl” is a step too far, leading to an experience that feels like a weird religion I don’t want to join. Going to a theme park shouldn’t be that way.

Is it any wonder then that the continued rift between the Florida government and the Walt Disney Company continues to grow? The company has taken positions in the past week that sexual orientation should be instructed in kindergarten classrooms. The company has taken the position that mastectomies on minors should be legal in Texas. In essence, Disney has become ideologically and politically captured such that they are a de facto organization tied to the far left. I don’t say that to be incendiary or extreme… I simply don’t know any other way to put it. When a company makes an official position in favor of mastectomies and chemical castrations on minors, and that position is not shared by 90% of the American population, what else do you want me to say? And it’s not as if Disney is a company that makes widgets, either. This is a company that produces culture for children — kids are singing Frozen songs often before they are singing the hymns of their own religions. This is a company that specifically aims for the most formative years of American generations. Taking highly controversial sociopolitical positions is bound to then lead to significant corporate damage.

Therefore, when The New York Post says that Governor Ron DeSantis is affirming a movement to strip Disney World of its very unique self-governing power, it’s no surprise. I’m not advocating for it to occur, but I’m also not surprised. And for the people who think that Disney drives Florida such that Florida will suffer more than Disney should this pass… think again. The Walt Disney Company may be a massive company with huge employment in the state, but they’ll pay dearly for losing all the privileges of self-government. And when you are advocating for instruction of sexual orientation in kindergarten, you’ve lost the argument at the opening salvo.

In honor of Nina West hosting “This is Me: Pride Celebration Spectacular” for Disney+, we caught up with the incredible queen to talk all things Pride. #OnestoWatch pic.twitter.com/MxX5fhdoHr

— E! News (@enews) June 26, 2021

I don’t like Ariel Zilber’s framing of the news in the New York Post. I don’t like that she uses the term “Don’t Say Gay Bill” as if that’s the official name of the legislation. It isn’t and that’s the opposition’s moniker for the bill. So using that label as the official term is factually untrue and purposefully misleading. I don’t like that she falsely claims teachers can’t discuss sexual orientation. In fact, the enacted law in Florida says teachers and third parties can’t instruct five to eight year olds on sexuality of any kind. The problem for people like Zilber and companies like Disney is that average people have now become so aware of this that they’re reading the language of bill for themselves. They’re discovering that whether they agree or disagree with it, it has been misrepresented in the news severely. And so don’t be surprised to see the party that supports preventing sexual instruction for kindergarten beginning to strike back at The Walt Disney Company. It has been utterly foolish for Bob Chapek and the Board to give into a movement that produced 250 photo op “protesters” in the first place. The Disney Walkout movement was a spectacular failure in convincing employees to participate in any sort of protest, but it is nonetheless the narrative vehicle with which a minority of powerful Disney leadership forces are working to capture the company and its goals.

As long as Disney takes highly controversial political positions (in either direction) and attempts to force bizarre ideological concepts on their employees, this will not move in a positive direction. A company loses its sway when the foundation of its complaint is based on an observed deception. The radicalism of Star Wars and of Pixar, the ideological reframing of Marvel… it is now becoming known in the mainstream, and the average American is realizing what the fans have been screaming for years.

They’ve maligned some of their detractors as the “Fandom Menace.” Now they might just call them the Fandom Mainstream.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. As always, That Park Place is your place for all the news that should be fun.