My Daughters Will Not Grow Up With Disney. Here’s Why.

By ROSS ROSENFELD

If I asked you to name the most damaging, disruptive figure in American politics, Donald Trump would probably immediately to come to mind. Yet there’s a figure who’s been on the political scene for much longer than Trump and who arguably paved the way for The Donald by helping to plant the fertilizer from which Trump sprung. His name is Rupert Murdoch, and his family is now the second largest stockholder in Disney.

In March of this year, the $71.3 billion Disney-Fox merger became official, boosting the Murdoch fortune by several billion dollars and transferring 21st Century Fox’s assets to Disney Corp. The Fox Corporation, which operates Fox “News,” was spun off into its own entity, still run by the Murdochs.

And so, out of pure greed, Disney – the company that has built itself on selling love, kindness, and acceptance of others – made a deal with the man whose network helped lie us into war, has consistently promoted Islamaphobia, has bred divisive hatred within our politics, and continues to peddle falsehoods on a daily basis in order to stoke anger and generate ratings.

And how have liberals reacted to this? Well, the truth is, they haven’t. As is too often the case, supposedly committed liberals will rant on Twitter and put up Facebook posts, but won’t actually do anything that matters, like skipping a Marvel movie (owned by Fox) or boycotting Fox shows, like Family Guy. Someone should tell Seth MacFarlane that, while he verbally condemns Fox “News” and is featured in Showtime’s critical miniseries about the network, “The Loudest Voice,” he’s still enriching the Murdochs every day and helping to support the Sean Hannitys of the world by keeping his popular show on Fox.

And you too are helping support Fox “News” if you continue to pay money to Fox and to Disney. While the Fox Corporation may now be its own company, not owned by Disney, it’s all fruit from the same poisoned tree, and the money you spend goes right into the Murdoch coffer.

That’s something that I personally cannot be part of, nor allow my children to be part of. I cannot, in good conscience, allow my children to watch Disney movies that preach morals on screen while the company itself has abandoned morals in its dealings. Rupert Murdoch is worse than any Disney villain to date, and yet Disney rolled out the magic carpet for him.

And so I’ve put a moratorium on all Disney products for my three young girls. They won’t be growing up with Minnie or Mickey or Donald or Nemo. No Disney princesses, no Disney shows, no Disney products. That also means no Muppets, since Disney owns them as well – so, so long Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie. I grew up with them, but my kids will not.

Now, I know some people may think this extreme. The idea of depriving your children of Disney may seem akin to depriving them of water. But it’s not. Trust me, my kids are fine living outside of the Disney universe. I’m only depriving myself of blatant hypocrisy, since I cannot conscientiously oppose the Murdochs and all that they stand for on one hand and put money in their pockets with the other. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks boycotted the buses – they didn’t just write a cute post about them and call it a day.

Despite what some liberals would like to believe, Fox “News” does not exist in a vacuum. When you watch Fox movies or Fox television, you’re helping make Fox “News” possible and helping make its owner and creator ever richer. Every time you see a Marvel movie or watch a Fox TV show, you’re supporting the Murdochs and supporting Trump. And every time you pay money for your child to see a Disney movie, own a Disney product, or enter a Disney theme park, you’re also selling-out your own morality, and for rather cheap at that.

Ross Rosenfeld is a journalist and author of The Slow Death of American Democracy, available at Amazon. He has written for The Hill, the Daily News, Newsday, and numerous other publications.

From The Progressive Populist, August 15, 2019

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