Non-leftist Disney employees have quietly protested Disney’s move away from neutrality.
The protest was delivered in the form of an anonymous open letter that also aired grievances about the double standards, intolerance, and bullying of conservatives in the ‘progressive orthodox’ woke workplace.
Employees are responding to the contents of an apology given by Disney CEO Bob Chapek to LGBTQ+ groups, which reactively commits Disney to the advance of LGBTQ+ ideas and activism.
Last week, Chapek capitulated to hyped-up accusations claiming that Disney was supporting “anti-LGBTQ+” Florida parental rights legislation.
Reacting to the bill, gay activists, and legacy media have (for weeks) deliberately engaged in a misinformation campaign, falsely labelling the proposal of the “don’t say gay” bill. This is despite the legislation never mentioning the word “gay.”
What the legislation offers is curriculum transparency, greater parental oversight, and the protection of children in grades K-3 from age-inappropriate overexposure to LGBTQ+ ideology.
The 1,000-word Disney Employee remonstration began with an assertion of love for the world of Disney, story, and a ‘fountain of wonder that inspires joy, awe, and delight in guests and audiences of all ages.’
However, the authors protested:
“The Walt Disney Company has come to be an increasingly uncomfortable place to work for those of us whose political and religious views are not explicitly progressive.”
They added:
“We watch quietly as our beliefs come under attack from our own employer, and we frequently see those who share our opinions condemned as villains by our own leadership.”
Citing the Florida bill, the open letter states:
“[Disney’s] evolving response to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation in Florida has left many of us wondering what place we have in a company actively promoting a political agenda so far removed from our own.”
Disney’s dissenters said, they’ve ‘watched colleagues, grow increasingly aggressive in their demands.’ Right up to ‘openly advocating for the punishment of employees who disagree with them.’
The letter alleges ‘TWDC has fostered an environment of fear that any employee who does not toe the line will be exposed and dismissed.’ ‘
Its authors candidly add:
“The tomorrow being reimagined doesn’t seem to have much room for religious or political conservatives within the company. Left-leaning cast members are free to promote their agenda and organize on company time using company resources. They call their fellow employee’s ‘bigots’ and pressure TWDC to use corporate influence to further their left-wing legislative goals.”
The protest held up a light against the woke workplace culture being fostered by increasingly ‘progressive’ Disney executives:
“Those of us who don’t align with this vision keep our heads down and do our work without bringing our personal beliefs into the workplace. We’ve done this without complaint because we don’t want to rock the boat, but the boat is being rocked, and our leadership seems compelled to reward those who are rocking it.”
They warned:
“As this politicization makes its way into our content and public messaging, our more conservative customers will feel similarly unwanted. You can only preach at or vilify your audience for so long before they decide to spend their money elsewhere.”
While applauding CEO, Bob Chapek’s original stance on neutrality the open letter’s authors stated, Disney is a unifier and ‘objective good’ in a ‘dark world.’
The letter concludes with an appeal to not let Disney become another propaganda apparatus of progressive ideology, stating ‘Disney shouldn’t be a vehicle for one demographic’s political activism.’
Critics of the letter are likely to include conservatives who question the implications of the precedent it sets, and whether a corporation can – or should – truly be apolitical.
The precedent implies pinning down political neutrality to a moral absolute, thus opening the door to mandates demanding conservative businesses, Christian schools and news organisations become apolitical entities.
A criticism made pertinent by the examples of Pastors refusing to close their doors to out-of-date, over-extended COVID-19 lockdowns.
As well as, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s increasingly bold venture into the political arena, often airing his political views on Twitter which challenge the ‘progressive’ hegemonic orthodoxy.
Disney’s capitulation furthers a sad stage in the history of Storytelling.
Like the music industry, originality peaked in the 1980s, began its decline in the 1990s, then, barring some exceptions, entered the millennium on life support.
Storytelling being moved from moral-worth-sharing to political activism is the art world’s death knell.
We’re right to grieve the loss, are more than justified in acting against it, but we shouldn’t be surprised to see it.
The open letter gesture offers the Storytelling world a glimmer of hope.
Implications and precedent aside, Disney’s non-leftist employees have brazenly exposed the hypocrisy of ‘progressive orthodoxy,’ and by doing so have drawn a line in the sand, opposing a nihilistic authoritarianism devouring everything in its path.
