‘I’ll Tell You How to Trap This Rodent’
Last month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared 2022 was “The Year of the Parent” in the Sunshine State — but it’s quickly beginning to look like this might be true for the whole of the country, both politically and culturally, as Florida’s top Republicans face off against Disney’s loyalty to the pressure of the woke mob.
U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida is now rallying his Twitter followers behind DeSantis’ revelation this week that lawmakers are considering working to rescind special protections that Walt Disney World enjoys in the state as the theme park and media giant commits to incorporating more LGBT characters and themes into upcoming productions.
“Things that scare Disney: Municipal dissolution, Copyright expiration, Combined reporting,” Gaetz tweeted along with a link to a story about DeSantis’ Thursday remarks.
“I’m the former Finance & Tax Chairman of the Florida House and I know of what I speak. DMs open for FL legislators,” he added. “I’ll tell you how to trap this rodent.”
Things that scare Disney:
Municipal dissolution
Copyright expiration
Combined reportingI’m the former Finance & Tax Chairman of the Florida House and I know of what I speak.
DMs open for FL legislators.
I’ll tell you how to trap this rodent. https://t.co/ZKs3Zv6A2s
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) April 2, 2022
You see, in 1967, the state of Florida granted Walt Disney World special legal status which allows it to govern itself municipally through the Reedy Creek Improvement Act.
“Rather than local governments, Disney is in control of everything from construction zoning, building codes and fire department services to controlling its own electricity, roads and water, meaning if the law is repealed, Disney will now have to get government approval for decisions about its operations—which might be harder or take longer to get,” Forbes explained.
Disney was also bailed out of accountability under DeSantis’ Social Media Platforms bill in the 11th hour last year when a provision was included that exempted operators of theme parks, something which the governor said was “was meant solely to protect Disney.”
So, with Disney’s vow to work to repeal the Parental Rights in Education Act, which DeSantis signed on Monday and has been mischaracterized by opponents as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, the state’s Republicans are now floating the idea that the entertainment giant might just no longer be allowed to operate as their own little woke corporate fiefdom under these protections.
Now, there’s an idea.
Also on Thursday, state Rep. Spencer Roach tweeted that “Yesterday was the 2nd meeting in a week w/fellow legislators to discuss a repeal of the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which allows Disney to act as its own government. If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County.”
Yesterday was the 2nd meeting in a week w/fellow legislators to discuss a repeal of the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which allows Disney to act as its own government. If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County. pic.twitter.com/6sj29Gj6Wz
— SpencerRoach (@SpencerRoachFL) March 30, 2022
Disney has decidedly sided with the vocal — yet arguably minute — contingent of woke employees and activists who criticized the company for neglecting to condemn the bill sooner, which resulted in an organized walk-out to protest.
CEO Bob Chapek, was caught between two camps.
On the one hand, there was the consternation of the morally defunct postmodern ideologues who think it’s really, really important to be able to discuss homosexuality and transgenderism along with sight words and the basics of addition and subtraction.
On the other hand, sensible people everywhere think the ideas of the aforementioned group are insane, radical and necessarily fated to compound the raging moral crises of our nation. They believe it’s high time we walk this whole “sexuality education” thing back a trifle.
And, you know, maybe we should just go ahead and reassess our nation’s values when it comes to the role public education ought to play in the raising of young children.
Well, Chapek opted to go full woke. He sided decidedly with the people who claim they’re not trying to sexualize your children and yet are weirdly obsessed with everything having to do with sexualizing children.
Bad move.
This submissive executive offered an apology to those of his employees who were angry that he didn’t condemn the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill enough, while already horrified and frustrated parents who grew up on Disney classics themselves were treated to the news that the company’s president of general entertainment content, Karey Burke, vowed to crank up the number of LGBT characters in its future productions, as The New York Post reported.
They’ll mock us for warning about an agenda targeting children, then turn around and pledge to fulfill the same agenda, and they wonder why this conflict has catapulted to the forefront of our national discussion as of late.
Listen, DeSantis and other Republicans who have touted parental issues as their top rallying point aren’t, as the media would have you believe, cruelly bigoted against the marginalized people that only want to teach first graders about alternative sexual lifestyles.
No, the truth is that they saw what happened to Glenn Youngkin in Virginia in 2021 and they want a whole lot more of that in November. They’re hearing American parents’ frustration at the radical woke agenda and the left’s insistence that it must be infused into every aspect of children’s lives and they know it’s a sticking point.
After all, as lawmakers in a constitutional republic, GOP lawmakers work for us, and they know what the people want them to do.
If Disney wants to keep poking the bear — that is, mama and papa bears across the country who just want their kids to have a childhood before they’re sucked mercilessly into the godless culture wars — they’d better brace themselves for one heck of a political attack; one which, at this point, is well beyond warranted.
The rest of woke corporate America would do well to take note.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
