As long as the only thing that’s being done is tearing down statues, then I agree. So I’m starting to think that the OP is correct - DeSantis can’t win the GOP nomination. In a similar way, Gavin Newsom can’t win the general election because his political ideology, which suits CA just fine, might not appeal to a swing voter in Ohio or PA. We seem to already be running out of choices for 2024. PLEASE not Trump and Biden.
A quote from the linked article: “Removing figures like these from the curriculum doesn’t forbid them from being taught but just means they’re no longer recommended or required. Also, the streamlining of the curriculum won’t affect textbooks or other instructional material, which the board is not updating at this time.”
The headline seems a bit like click bait.
Again, not a good idea in my opinion, but certainly not censorship.
A bit off topic, but: Roald Dahl Books Get New Edits—And Critics Cry Censorship: The Controversy Surrounding ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’ And More
While I disagree with the modifications to Dahl’s works, that’s not progressive politicians or lawmakers censoring the works; it’s the author’s publisher choosing to modify the books to remove language that they deem insensitive, by present-day standards.
And, just to note, after a week or so of bad press, and criticism from all points on the political spectrum, the publisher backtracked on this.
A biography of Rosa Parks was recently on the banned list in Florida (cite). Note that you can get up to 5 years in prison for giving children access to books on the banned list.
This is night and day from pulling down statues, which glorify figures that shouldn’t be glorified.
Yikes!
"In the wake of public controversy surrounding the bill, here are 10 books banned in Duval County. The following come from a list of 176 removed books in the county by Pen America, a nonprofit that advocates for freedom of expression in literature.
“The Life of Rosa Parks” is a biography of the life of the late civil rights leader who was arrested after not giving up her seat on a segregated bus system. It is part of a series about the life of historical icons adapted for children. Similar to the other books in this list, it has been removed from libraries and classrooms until further review.
Also books about Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente. But not any books about Mickey Mantle or Ty Cobb.
I’m happy and relieved to see this. Thanks for the cite.
Are these books also adapted for children, like “The Life of Rosa Parks” book referenced by @Mijin in the above post? It would be interesting to see how complex social topics are taught to children.
Here are children’s books about both players:
Not sure if those are the books referenced. We have a number of children’s books by Brad Meltzer about historical figures that we had bought for my youngest daughter that explained their accomplishments in simple and illustrated terms. Here is his book about Rosa Parks:
I agree with kenobi_65’s take: It’s the publisher trying to make the book more palatable to modern audiences; it’s not censorship per se.
The changes do seem a bit overly politically correct, however. I guess you can’t call someone “fat” any more (because that’s fat-shaming, presumably. Not that Dahl’s use of the word isn’t a bit ugly; he really does fat-shame Augustus Gloop and play it for laughs).
I’m surprised no one mentioned previous changes made decades ago:
In the first published edition, the Oompa-Loompas were described as African pygmies, and were drawn this way in the original printed edition.[10] After the announcement of a film adaptation sparked a statement from the NAACP, which expressed concern that the transportation of Oompa-Loompas to Wonka’s factory resembled slavery, Dahl found himself sympathising with their concerns and published a revised edition.[10] In this edition, as well as the subsequent sequel, the Oompa-Loompas were drawn as being white and appearing similar to hippies, and the references to Africa were deleted.[10]
I read the original book in the early 1980s and was shocked at some stuff in it.
A lot of people also don’t know that Dahl wrote “adult novels,” aka, porny stuff. E.g.:
Dahl also said a bunch of dumb anti-Semitic shit. He has his good points as a writer, but his politics were kinda no bueno.
DeSantis was described as a “tyrant” by some Trump supporters recently, after they weren’t allowed in at a DeSantis book signing.
DeSantis may be taking Trump’s act too far. He seems less able to pull it off the way Trump does. Ironically this gives Trump an opening to attack DeSantis from the left, with attacks like “I’m for freedom of speech, I would never ban books like that DeSantis guy is doing.”
This is a good sign, and portends chaos, disorganization, and disunity for the GOP primary.
One more thing that’s going to seriously hamper DeSantis’ chances, especially in the general: he pretty much scuttled Disney World’s municipal autonomy, all over the “Don’t Say Gay” statute. Disney will pump far more money than any candidate could hope to have in his war chest into ads showing Ron as anti-business, anti-civil rights and just being a complete schnook.
This is one of those times that Citizens United is going to bite the GOP on the ass. Don’t mess with The Mouse.
Disney is a global behemoth that has much larger interests than a few acres in Florida. And they’ve already been cowed into submission – DeSantis just signed the bill effecting the state takeover of the Reedy Creek Improvement District with nary a peep out of the Mouse.
Disney executives care more about their bottom line than their pride. If DeSantis is the nominee, they will quietly back him as the candidate more likely to serve their business interests through cuts the corporate tax rate, deregulation, etc.
I think the suggestion that DeSantis has cowed Disney into submission is mistaken. They may lay low and keep their mouths shut in private but I would bet they will work behind the scenes to undermine DeSantis as much as possible.
Don’t mess with The House of Mouse.
How much does income from the one park compare to the whole, anyway? Could they dynamite the park, walk away from it, and have the earnings per share drop more than a few cents?
Edit:
Seems WDW profits are about $7.3-billion last year, compared to $28.2-billion for the company as a whole, so more than I thought.
It probably isn’t much in that massive company’s total P/L, but it is a lot more than one park: Walt Disney World is comprised of four theme parks, two water parks, 40 hotels, two shopping complexes, four golf courses, and a camping resort.
Beyond that, it’s also been the company’s signature attraction since it opened.
(Edit: the numbers on your edit, about WDW profits, are more than I had suspected, as well!)
Didn’t the governor of Colorado offer to let Disney move to Colorado at favorable terms?
Also, Disney just got a new CEO. Bob Iger, returning champion. Dunno how much of a difference that makes, but the last guy was a schnook.
(Thanks, CaptMurdock! I haven’t heard that word in years!)