Family claims white rabbit refused to touch kids (Disneyland)

[wedway71]

But how do you know it was not race? How do you know that the attribution of race to the situation is incorrect? Are there not legitimate reasons for a person to be more sensitive? It is easy to claim how one would respond.

You make some valid points. My feeling is if this father-mother was that Uber sensitive to begin with, DL was screwed the second they walked into the park. It could have been a ticket taker that did not act in a way that they felt was considered bending over backwards or a server that did not do something. I was NOT there...and no one else in here was so we are ALL speculating what happened. I just wonder why such a hateful racist would get a job at one of the most visited places in the world by EVERY religion, race, creed, sexual orientation, etc. If he was that much of a racist, to clearly act in a way that reflects hating blacks, why would he get away with doing this??? I guess we will all see.....

 

[lazyboy97o]

You make some valid points. My feeling is if this father-mother was that Uber sensitive to begin with, DL was screwed the second they walked into the park. It could have been a ticket taker that did not act in a way that they felt was considered bending over backwards or a server that did not do something. I was NOT there...and no one else in here was so we are ALL speculating what happened. I just wonder why such a hateful racist would get a job at one of the most visited places in the world by EVERY religion, race, creed, sexual orientation, etc. If he was that much of a racist, to clearly act in a way that reflects hating blacks, why would he get away with doing this??? I guess we will all see.....

Sensitivity need not be to the level you describe. It's a much greater spectrum. We are also not always cognizant of our prejudices.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

If the Blacks are seeking monetary gain, why did they refuse Disney's offer and demand a non-monetary action on the part of Disney?

The Blacks and their cunning lawyer seek a settlement out of court. Disney is a rational corporation, judging issues like this often by sheer monetary loss and gain alone.

The costs of a few weeks of headlines and outcry of 'DISNEY IS TEH RACIST PIGS' is high. You know what people are like, they are neither very dsciplined, nor particularly bright, they lack a sense of focus, and they love public outcry. Invariably, that most damaging of sayings will rear its ugly head: 'where there'' smoke, there's fire'. All this in a tense subject frought with personal frustrations and public sensitivities.

Disney would rather pay $50,000 out of pocket to get rid of golddiggers than face prolonged publicity involving the words 'Disney + small kids + something bad'.

That's why these cases usually involve 'small children' on the one side, and a faceless Disney employee on the other. If the face of this White Rabbit would be that of one of his friends, say a 22 year old Sri lankan girl trying to pay for her study and earn a living for her baby son, then public sentiment has little chance of spiralling out of control. When it is a faceless Rabbit, it can represent the big, evil, faceless corporation one would love to see bleed.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The Blacks and their cunning lawyer seek a settlement out of court. Disney is a rational corporation, judging issues like this often by sheer monetary loss and gain alone.

Disney already offered an out of court, monetary settlement.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Disney already offered an out of court, monetary settlement.

Sadly, they did indeed. Every loudmouth who runs crying to guests services is bought off with lavish goods.

I might do the same if I were Disney, but it is annoying to more calm guests with a greater sense of perspective and less entitlement issues.


~ My popcorn was lukewarm! Now gimme $350, four fastpasses and a Merida doll! ~

 

[PhotoDave219]

Are you kidding me?!?!?! What a crock of (pooh).

 

[HatboxGhost]

Disney already offered an out of court, monetary settlement.

Disney needs to grow some balls. They need to start sticking up for their employees and the company itself and finally put an end to the bs, but as long as Disney gives in, people will continue to try to get free money and know exactly where to go for that free cash. Sure, you will get a group of people that will complain and not want to give Disney their business anymore but MOST will see through the bs and continue to go and Disney will thrive as they have always.
The screwed up part about this is that IF this is legit, alot of people wont believe it because most of the time its bs.

 

[wedway71]

I am not in PR but I would say if Disney finds out that the CM was in fact acting in a racist manner, they should very publicly show the world that they DO NOT allow this kind of behavior and the CM will be terminated. If the person was guilty of this, they need to separate themselves from the person so the Disney brand is not harmed.

If in fact it turns out that the CM was NOT guilty of the allegations,then Disney should ALSO very publicly fight for the CM and their brand. YES it could be costly and time consuming with many man hours, BUT I feel it is worth it to let the entire world know that they not only support THEIR people, but will not allow people to come to any of their parks and make claims that are not true and certainly push them around and diminish the brand.

If it turns out the claims are false, it not only cost Disney some bad press but tarnished the character of that CM. As reporters are just "covering a story" and Disney fans on fan sites have something to talk about, the poor CM who may have done nothing wrong is worrying that they may be losing a job that they love.

 

[awoogala]

The thing that really kills any credibility they may have for me is the fact that they are suing. I'm sorry, but that in itself makes their claims incredibly suspect.

Complain about it, go to the media if you feel that's the best way to try to make the point, but when you sue for something this minor (and yes, I do believe racism is a horrible thing but it wasn't as if they were refused service or entry) then it screens "cash grab" to me.

Besides, is it not possible the CM in the costume didn't see that the kid was going in for a hug? Is it not possible that the kid tugged on the costume in a way that made the CM leery? The kid looks awfully happy in that picture and the CM is clearly posing with them.

the problem is there are too many variables. Did the kid ask for a hug? did he stand out of the sightline of the rabbit (which is a wide swath)? was their acceptable time limit done, and the next kids were waiting for way too long? (seen that one many times- people think they get 10 minutes alone with a character, while the line waits and waits). No one can tell anything without a video/other eyewitnesses. Perception is huge. Have they been to disney before? do they know how character interactions work? It's impossible to guess at what happened.
Claiming disney offering them tickets means blame is incorrect. No one knows how that went down. Were they calm when asking for an apology? were they screaming and making a scene? it behooves customer service to calm down screamers, valid or not, since that looks bad.
That kid in the pictures they have..looks happy, and looks like he does not want to be touched- body language is crucial. Until I see some video, I am not guessing.
EDIT: having seen it again, They took several pictures, each person seperately with the character. That could explain the impatience.. 3 or 4 family members, each getting a seperate shot, while a huge line waits, could absolutely be aggravating. Still not guessing, without a video.

 

[Tom Morrow]

How does a person in a costume with limited mobility, eyesight, and a lack of fingers or ability to speak act "racist"?

"He acted impatiently" (hmm, maybe he was late for something important?) "and refused to touch the children" (video shows several pics of White Rabbit posing with the kids looking happy. If all you do is walk up to a character like you don't care, they aren't going to immediately hug you)

They played the race card for teh monies, and it worked. Disney is the punching bag once again. I get that its about protecting your brand, and Disney, possibly more than any other company, has to viciously protect that image, making them an easy target. But what do cash settlements do? They admit to fault. The media will hear about it either way. The first mistake was offering the family cash and VIP tickets with a non-disclosure agreement. Right there they're admitting fault at a point which the situation had most likely not even been looked into. (it sounds like something a stop in Guest Relations would conjure up)

They have all the money and most likely the best lawyers that money can buy. Why not set some examples and put these frivolous lawsuits in their place? And then there's the poor CM who's life could end up in shambles over what was probably nothing at all.

 

[HatboxGhost]

And then there's the poor CM who's life could end up in shambles over what was probably nothing at all.

He/She is probably worried sick knowing how Disney caves in....right or wrong. Here was a person that worked his or her way up to a costumed character.....awesome gig imo.....and is afraid he/she might lose their job......especially in this economy. It really sucks.

 

[aw14]

sadly we are a very litigious society and an overly sensitive one, which makes for a bad combo. We dont know what happened here, but it seems odd that a character who's vision, movement, etc... is quite limited, would pick one child to be racist towards and seemingly not another one.

 

[lazyboy97o]

They played the race card for teh monies, and it worked.

How is this case about money? The money was offered and refused.

 

[hiptwinmama]

I mentioned this to my mom yesterday....

As a child we went to WDW A LOT.... we lived 60 min away. She said there were several times, when a character would walk away from us because they couldn't see us. Or, that it would be time to leave and they would walk away ... stopping to hug another child as they were leaving. You still see that in the parks today, and it happened to my daughters last year at EPCOT in world show case. I think it was mis interpreted, and that some people are very sensitive when it comes to their children or maybe lawsuit happy.

That being said, I wasn't there and I haven't seen a video.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I think if the CM is innocent of this supposid "racism" then Disney should stand up for them. People know Disney is big on offering monetary settlements to keep these cases out of court. It's easy money for some people. Maybe if Disney actually started sticking up for themselves and taking these claims to court, especially when thy know it's a bunch of BS, then maybe people would stop trying to pull fast ones over on them. Maybe these ludicrous lawsuits would drop. Disney needs to start fighting back.

Personally, I've worked as a mascot when I was a teenager. If the Disney costumes are anything like the costume I had to wear (which was actually a really well made costume) it's very hard to see in them. I can't tell you the amount of times kids tried to high five me or hug me and I just didn't see them because another kid was trying to high five me at the same time. Anything could have happened in this situation. Seems to me that Mr. Rabbit didn't give little Bobby and Susie enough love and attention that they thought was suitable. Lame.

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

How is this case about money? The money was offered and refused.

...and now they are suing for way more money. They didn't want $500 they wanted a job quitting lifetime salary because they didn't like the way a giant bunny stood next to their children..

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

also...(sorry if this was mentioned before) but did anyone notice that in the video where the family talks about how the White Rabbit treated white kids differently that it is not the same CM - at least not the same costume, unless the rabbit puts on his stop watch for one family and takes it off for the next one?

 

[lazyboy97o]

...and now they are suing for way more money. They didn't want $500 they wanted a job quitting lifetime salary because they didn't like the way a giant bunny stood next to their children..

Do you have an article you can provide that states the family is seeking greater monetary damages?

 

[draybook]

And it looks like a second family is suing Disneyland because Donald Duck wouldn't take pictures or interact with their son, Ryder. This family is the White family....http://www.examiner.com/article/second-family-suing-disneyland-claims-donald-duck-is-racist




Seriously, the Black blacks, the White blacks....this HAS to be scripted......

And conveniently enough, it's the same attorney representing both parties.

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

Do you have an article you can provide that states the family is seeking greater monetary damages?

They have filed a discriminaion lawsuit of which the only possible result is monetary recompense for damages using a personal injury lawyer. I can make the itty bitty rabbit hop to them wanting more money without seeing the exact phrase "I want more money" if they can make the giant leap of claiming racism when they have no evidence to show that anyone was treated differently because of their race.