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The Soapbox: Rants and Commentary:
Let's Protest Disney! That'll Make The World a Better Place!Composed by Dan O'Leary(dano@cybercomm.net)As most people have heard by now, leaders of the Southern Baptists voted this past summer to boycott the Walt Disney Co. and subsidiaries for alleged "anti-Christian and anti-family" programming. The allegations come from the company's paying health benefits to employees' same-sex partners, theme parks admitting large amounts of homosexuals (Disney denies any sort of "Gay Days"), violent films like "Pulp Fiction" and "Kids" (released through its other production companies such as Miramax), and programming on the Disney-owned ABC. The Southern Baptists have since said Disney has ignored their protests and increased its objectionable policies and programming as a statement to them, such as last year's "coming out" of Ellen Degeneres' character on ABC's now-cancelled "Ellen." Proving that an over-inflated sense of self-importance is not defined by one's faith, the national group Concerned Women for America is also announcing a boycott of the Walt Disney Co. Spokeswoman Paula Govers said Disney sends the wrong message to young women. An example given was "The Little Mermaid's" Ariel only wears two small seashells for clothing. If I can step on the soapbox for just a moment, where do these folks manage to find enough time to gather meetings, debate, research, and contact the press to complain that certain media products don't meet their view of morality? As a Christian myself, I'd like to remind certain members of my faith that there's also a NEW Testament in the Bible, where we learn to be tolerant of others. Why get upset with people who don't discriminate on sexual preference? Let's remember not everyone fits the same rigid belief systems: historians have debated DaVinci's sexuality for years, some of the Great Composers were womanizers, the Founding Fathers were slave owners, the earliest philosophers were drug users. Does this diminish their achievements? Why does anyone whose values are different from our own get labeled as a blasphemer, and the sole source of our society's downfall? The only thing that Disney can be justfully accused of is greed, the same as the other five major entertainment conglomerates. It's a great big world out there, and it's time some of us learn to live with others' ideas and beliefs, even when they clash with our own. In regards to the violent films, there's a good reason all the films mentioned in the protest are rated "R." Moviegoers over 17 are supposedly mature enough to see these films, and the movie company is not responsible if you're allowing your preschooler to watch "Pulp Fiction." As far as the "risque'" look and actions of imaginary characters in fictional stories, let's all take a moment to realize these are CARTOONS drawn from classic fairy tales. It's a MERMAID, folks! When was the last time you saw a mermaid with clothes? They are not known for maxing out their Macy's credit limit when the spring fashion line comes out. Can we forgive Hans Christian Anderson for not knowing about women's lib two hundered years ago? There's a reason fairy tales begin with "Once upon a time, a long time ago..." They are stories from a far past that never really was, meant to entertain children, not teach them how to live in the twentieth century. If you're really afraid your daughter will think it's OK to swim nearly naked, avoid taking her to the beach, and don't worry about a singing cartoon character that talks to fish.
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