Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek announced this past week that the entertainment giant has joined the leftist mob opposing a bill backed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and passed by the legislature that would protect young children from exposure to LGBTQ themes.
In the latest example of corporate genuflection to all things radical, Mr. Chapek also said Disney would contribute $5 million to the Human Rights Campaign and other LGBTQ pressure groups, and he promised to put heat on Gov. DeSantis.
The "Parental Rights in Education Law" (HB 1557) would ban "classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation and gender identity" for children kindergarten through third grade. We're talking five- to eight-year-olds.
So, the people in raincoats with candy in their pockets will have to wait at least until children are nine or 10 to inject sexual uncertainty into their lives. How upsetting.
For a company that has made billions from children, it's more than ironic that Disney is against protecting children's innocence. Disney instead stands with the progressive teacher unions that insist on keeping the public clueless about the indoctrination.
As usual, the media are in lockstep, adopting the "Don't Say Gay" moniker for the Florida legislation and describing the bill as "targeting" children.
If you want to know why Western culture has so quickly and shockingly surrendered to radicals on so many issues, it's because they know how to win. For one thing, they project their own hatred on others and make it stick. Nobody wants to be tagged as a bigot. Joe Biden actually called the bill "hateful."
When they win, radicals treat it only as a speed bump. As soon as they get what they want, they ask for more. They've found that gratitude earns them little, whereas more accusations keep filling the coffers.
The Human Rights Campaign, whose Form 990 reveals gross receipts of $47 million in 2020, slapped Disney right in the face after Chapek's appeasement offer.
"[We] will not accept this money from Disney until we see them build on their public commitment and work with LGBTQ+ advocates," Joni Madison, interim president, said Wednesday. She, he or they added, "today they took a step in the right direction. But it was merely the first step."
This is a textbook "what have you done for me lately?" ploy right on the heels of a concession. For his part, Gov. DeSantis (right) said there is "zero" chance that he will cave to a "woke" corporation, even Disney, whose footprint is huge in Florida.
Good for him. Gov. DeSantis also backs a bill to ban Critical Race Theory and other "equity" propaganda. "No taxpayer dollars should be used to teach our kids to hate our country or hate each other," he said.
Another key front in the war on children is the massive PR campaign by media, the Biden administration and drug companies to inject children with COVID-19 shots and keep them masked.
On Feb. 3, a Washington Post editorial "Secure Shots," lamented that "the smallest kids still lack a vaccine." Never mind that children are at little risk from COVID-19 and the shots' long-term effects are unknown. Big Pharma stands to make more billions if the 74 million children in the U.S are forced to get injections.
The paper notes that Pfizer reports "that a two-dose vaccine worked well to stimulate antibodies in children from six months to 2 years old in a clinical trial but did not work in children from 2 years old to under 5." The company says it will next try a three-dose regimen. "At issue is not vaccine safety or tolerance but whether it is effective," the Post helpfully adds.
As for masking, here's a Post headline on March 8: "Studies suggest masks don't inhibit kids from learning how to communicate." Seriously? Do any of these people have children? Know any children? Seen any children?
Babies apparently begin reading lips as early as eight months old. Tellingly, the CDC has just pushed child development milestones to later ages in this Age of the Mask. Coincidence?
Not to worry. The article says, "getting face-to-face, unmasked interaction with their family members before and after [day care] will probably offset being around masked adults all day," according to a researcher.
From Disney to the media, Big Pharma and progressive health and educational authorities, it seems a malevolent Goofy has been put in charge of childhood development.
It would be funny if it were not so serious.
A version of this column ran originally in The Washington Times.
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