So from the District meeting last week it seems they are just operating with a “business as usual” mindset. Really curious as to what is going on behind the scenes here.
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News Reedy Creek Improvement District and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District
- Thread starter castlecake2.0
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GoofGoof
Premium Member
Just curious if that applies to all companies then. I posted a petition a few pages back signed by 250+ companies denouncing these types of bills. Are all these companies wrong for wading into politics? Are the people upset with Disney upset with all of them? Are they planning to boycott all of them? I guess the ones who are aren’t reading this since both Apple and Google were on the list as well as Verizon and Comcast and other large telecom and phone companies so there would be no way to have a cell phone or an internet connection to post here. The politicians in FL are spinning this as Disney going rogue but they are not that different than many other corporate players. This isn’t new either. Large companies in the past have gotten involved with issues over human rights, woman’s rights, the civil rights movement and many other social political issues not directly related to how they make a buck.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
^this 100%. This isn’t about one side or the other on the original bill. That’s off limits to discuss anyway. It’s about the government overreach as a reaction. People on both sides of the issue should be equally disturbed by this type of behavior. It’s not how a democratic government should work.
Not uncommon. I would guess this is far from settled so the best response is likely "business as usual."
Vacationeer
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
If the dissolution of Reedy Creek stands and this trajectory continues with a political party openly using governmental powers in attempt to silence Disney’s opposing opinions, the US will be sliding further down on global freedom indexes. The concern is not for list topping bragging rights but the consequences. Imagine if everybody gets to play by these newly legalized tactics. The potential for dysfunction in every level of government is immense. None of us win in that scenario.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
If you look at what Fitch cited as their concern, it was pretty damning, lack of a rule of law and corruption.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
Comcast NBC Universal signed a petition against governments passing these types of bills. They haven‘t “stayed silent” but the powers that be chose this fight against Disney specifically as a publicity stunt because they are a larger, more iconic company. They can’t attack every corporation that’s opposed to this type of thing or there would be no employers left. I’m not sure anyone with half a brain believes Disney is grooming anyone or attacking parents. If people believe that they need to take a step outside their echo chamber. I think the majority of people furious at Disney speaking out have no clue that its very normal for corporations to have positions on all sorts of political issues. They’ve been told by their talking heads to be angry and so they are.Uh huh, but the backlash against Chapek's pandering had more severe results - the abolishing of the RCID, for instance. Yeah that was a huge win. As for reputation...pfffft. Disney is now being accused of grooming and of attacking parents. Talk about an uproar - there were news stories about it all over the place. Another huge win.Hey, have you noticed that Universal has stayed silent during all this? The twerpy columnist over at the Site That Must Not Be Named was whining about that, but nope, Universal didn't bend over. Smart, very smart.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
Wherever one stands on this issue, I don't think it's inaccurate to acknowledge that Disney's vocal and specific opposition to the bill is qualitatively very different from signing a catchall petition. It may be an exaggeration to claim that other companies have "stayed silent", but they certainly haven't been as loud or direct as Disney.
A reminder of what Disney actually said:
thewaltdisneycompany.com
A reminder of what Disney actually said:
Statement From The Walt Disney Company On Signing Of Florida Legislation - The Walt Disney Company
The following statement may be attributed to a spokesperson for The Walt Disney Company: “Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, …Read More
thewaltdisneycompany.com
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
Uh huh, but the backlash against Chapek's pandering had more severe results - the abolishing of the RCID, for instance. Yeah that was a huge win. As for reputation...pfffft. Disney is now being accused of grooming and of attacking parents. Talk about an uproar - there were news stories about it all over the place. Another huge win.
I am fairly confidant the RCID will remain largely intact when all this blows over, that doesn’t mean there won’t be other repercussions though, the no fly zones look at risk but even bigger than that is Disney will be requesting another copyright extension for Mickey Mouse in a year and in the current political climate I don’t think there’s any way that gets extended, so Mickey becomes public domain all because their CEO decided to stumble into half heartedly choosing a side.
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Magenta Panther
Well-Known Member
You may be right about Universal signing a petition, but I just did a news search and could find nothing about that. Would you happen to have a link to an article that confirms that?
BTW, I did find stories about Universal staying silent: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/u...say-gay-stance/ar-AAVGFwI?ocid=BingNewsSearch
Now, Universal/Comcast has supported LGBTQ in the past, but what I'm speaking of is the actual Florida bill. Universal has apparently remained silent about it. If that's true (and I have found nothing in the news to contradict it) then again, smart. Very smart.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
I posted it earlier but it was deleted. What they signed was a petition that speaks out against these types of bills. It doesn’t specially mention the FL bill but references similar types of bills. My point is that it’s naive to think other corporations are silent on political issues. Most are not.
Dranth
Well-Known Member
There will be no measurable backlash. RCID will remain in tact or something extremely similar will be put in place. No one is going to boycott Disney that matters to them or causes any financial impact. Further, anyone who believes that Disney is promoting "grooming" or any other scary buzzword that gets thrown around is either not fully informed or just being dishonest about the whole situation.Uh huh, but the backlash against Chapek's pandering had more severe results - the abolishing of the RCID, for instance. Yeah that was a huge win. As for reputation...pfffft. Disney is now being accused of grooming and of attacking parents. Talk about an uproar - there were news stories about it all over the place. Another huge win.
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
And this is the heart of the problem, it’s not “what” they are supporting but “how” they chose to do it.Wherever one stands on this issue, I don't think it's inaccurate to acknowledge that Disney's vocal and specific opposition to the bill is qualitatively very different from signing a catchall petition. It may be an exaggeration to claim that other companies have "stayed silent", but they certainly haven't been as loud or direct as Disney.
A reminder of what Disney actually said:
Statement From The Walt Disney Company On Signing Of Florida Legislation - The Walt Disney Company
The following statement may be attributed to a spokesperson for The Walt Disney Company: “Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, …Read More
I have no doubt that Bob Iger could have shown the same level of support for the CMs and made an equally strong, but also carefully crafted, public statement against the law without all the backlash.
Chapek and company just don’t understand the nuance required with politics and are now seeing the result of openly waging a public political battle.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
The last copyright extension saw Disney lobbying years beforehand. They have t been doing that with the current term. The US is also part of a number of intellectual property rights treaties and agreements that would cause issues with another extension. For years now it has been assumed that Disney would not be able to get another extension. This isn’t something new, just people buying into partisan hype.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
In defense of Chapek (and I’m not likely to say that very often
) there’s no way anyone could have predicted this outcome when he made his comments. It’s Monday morning quarterbacking to say he should have known the state of FL would pass multiple bills attacking their largest employer and the backbone of the state tourism industry which happens to be the largest industry. His stance was more vocal and his criticism more harsh than other corporations and directed at FL, but the overreaction to it is unprecedented.
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mikejs78
Well-Known Member
This is a myth. If the copyright extension expires, steamboat Willie becomes public domain (And gradually over time other Disney cartoons and films). Mickey mouse the character is still trademarked by the Walt Disney company, and trademarks don't have expirations.
Wendy Pleakley
Well-Known Member
Disney is an easy target because they're the biggest and most well known.
Another piece is that Chapek's response highlighted internal issues with the company. A lot of employees spoke out because his public support contrasted with certain actions the company had been taking with censoring creative content.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
My earlier reply to you was deleted, but I just want to make it clear that I don’t view Disney’s approach as a problem. I’m fully behind it.
This makes me look back at my successful sales career. I bet you could talk to every one of my customers and not find one of them that knows my views on any political or social issue.In defense of Chapek (and I’m not likely to say that very often
My thought was that no stance I have is going to help my sales numbers, but, particular stances sure could hurt.
I always thought that was a universal way businesses acted. Not anymore.