An anonymous blogger summed up the reaction best when Disney announced recently its Fairy Tale Weddings would allow for same-sex unions: "It's the home of Goofy. 'Nuff said.
Disney, apparently, has put the "fairy" back in "fairy tale," I might add. The packaged pageantry covers both Disney World in nearby Orlando, Disneyland in California and Disney cruise ships.
My suspicion is that Disney made the call for the same reasons NBC and CBS pulled the plug on "shock jock" Don Imus the other day. Money. Corporate greed, some might grumble. The first responsibility of any board of directors and company management is to maximize the profits of its shareholders. After all, the shareholders elected the board and selected the management they thought would best represent their financial stakes in a publicly-owned firm.
In Disney's case, it's an opportunity to sell more $8,000 to $45,000 wedding packages. At NBC and CBS, retaining the provocative Imus show would have threatened serious sponsorship revenue losses in an intensely competitive media field. Both instances illustrate what can happen when weak management fails to nip controversy in the bud.
Disney's "splicing" ceremony includes, at those prices, a wedding planner, flowers, music, food, a ride in a magic pumpkin and the attendance of a formally-clad Mickey and Minnie Mouse as guests of honor.
For Disney, the acceptance of same-sex commitment ceremonies is likely to be interpreted as an endorsement of gay marriage -- in keeping with the entertainment company's slogan, "Something for Everyone." What would old Walt Disney have thought?
I doubt Walt would have ever personally approved of gay marriage; he's probably rolling over in his grave at this very minute. Walt Disney would most likely have just turned the other cheek and shrugged, "Well, this is supposed to be a place where dreams come true." As with other fairy tales, however, reality strikes at midnight. The same-sex couple, in tiaras and tuxedos, would be returned to a world that still, largely, puts traditional family values first.
It's a world where Focus on the Family's head, Dr. James C. Dobson, a weekly columnist on this page, and the majority of us view gay marriage at the very least as "unproductive," a view shared by strong Southern Baptist churches. Dobson and the Southern Baptists are indelibly attached to any Disney scenario involving gays and challenging to the American religious community in general. Previously, both have recommended boycotting Disney World and Disneyland for hosting June's annual Gay Pride celebrations.
Any gay and lesbian demonstration, including marriages or parades, brings up the question of what we should tell our children about their $65 theme park experiences. How do we explain to our young innocents when a GLBT crowd is "in your face" and not particularly family-rated? Fairy tale weddings are part of show biz. Same-sex marriages are all about politics. An argument could contend that all politics is show bizness, or vice versa. I guess that's what Disney is trying to say.
A suggestion for all those politicos wrestling with same-sex marriages. Just make like other countries where joint ownership, medical decision-making, tax filing status and insurance are available to all couples, regardless of sex. That's really all anyone wants.
from Hernando Today / John Herbert
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