Wow. I didn’t think I’d have to publicly defend myself quite so soon, but three weeks into our Disney boycott Strollerderby blogger KJ Dell’Antonia questions my patriotism in If You Hate Disney, Maybe You Hate America.
Aside from the title’s ridiculous accusation, the erroneous assumptions and inaccuracies in the post (some of which were addressed in the comments), Dell’Antonia does hit on a question that’s cropped up before: Why boycott all of Disney’s holdings? Can’t you simply accept what’s good and reject the bad? ISN’T THAT WHAT GOOD AMERICANS DO?
Two things. First, it wouldn’t be much of a boycott, would it, if I continued to purchase/consume products that still contribute to Disney’s bottom line?
Second, as Dell’Antonia wonders:
When Ms. Ray publicly boycotts Disney, she’s not really just boycotting Disney. She’s saying, look how deeply this company can reach into out lives, and isn’t that a bad thing?
But is it? Because if you fault Disney for its growth and reach, what you’re really saying is that companies should not be allowed to grow and expand beyond some as-yet-to-be-determined appropriate size.
Actually, no, that’s not what I’m suggesting, but I do think that when a handful of corporations (one being Disney) control most of our media — what we hear, see and read in our daily lives — it’s cause to question. How are Disney’s products and properties affected when the “Economies of scale and basic corporate governance essentially require it to continue to grow as long as it generates a profit for shareholders?” Will one arm of the corporation, an ABC talk show, for example, discuss anything that might affect the brand reputation of another arm? Or rather, do they all work together to support one bottom line? Dell’Antonia illustrates this with a perfect example when she suggests that CCFC was kicked out of its Harvard-based home because the Abigail E. Disney foundation is a major supporter of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
That’s the reach I’m questioning and yes, my hypothesis is that it is, indeed, a bad thing.
But thanks, Dell’Antonia, for your advice on what would be more effective in my pursuit. I’ll just stick to my original plan.
And now if you’ll excuse me, I must go back to burning the flag, my bra, and every Disney storybook I can get my hands on, because that’s what we properly educated, middle-class, feminist liberal white moms do.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
??? Really. Does that mean the blogger thinks any corporation means “the American way of life” and if you don’t like that you are anti-american?
I know the USA is capitalist and consumerist based …. but it also has anti-trust regulations, educated women and choice! all of those are American too!
She insists that her title “If you hate Disney, maybe you hate America” is tongue in cheek, but follows with a post that brands you an “activist” and defends the position that you are somehow undermining American capitalism.
In doing so, she defends Disney’s actions at Harvard. She applauds their vertical and horizontal market reach. The company creates JOBS, dammit! It drives the economy that you need, and don’t go crying to her when you have to live in some frontier-era log cabin starving to death unless you support them. Why, you might even be part of – gasp! – making Disney GO UNDER!
But hey, she does admit that the lead in the kids jewelry was a bad thing.
Hi, good luck on your journey. You might be interested in a magazine called Adbusters. Cheers!
What you are doing is a really interesting social experiment and I applaud you for it. As you gain more spotlight there will undoubtedly be haters who want to label you as whatever they are hating on at the moment.
Perhaps after a year you go back to picking just the pieces that you like and buy those products and perhaps you do not. At least you will be aware of what you are buying into and will have spread that knowledge to more people.
You know you are making some difference when the haters increase in number.
All the best
Krs
http://www.globalocalism.com
Ambitious initiative. I did the same with Mattel when my daughter was born…
Like any other person who’s made a conscious choice to defend your individuality and your freedom to think carefully about your choices in the overpowering consumerism, you are going to get hate mail. This just means that you’re doing a great job.
@John-Henry, I love Adbusters! Even before they wrote about our project!
@khemicaljesus, do you still avoid Mattel? Now THAT seems hard!
first rate idea. i wish you all the best i this endeavour. it will be a permanent grind. your “other homes” idea is a brilliant addition to alleviate the tsunami of brainwashed critique. good luck.
You were quoted in an article as saying that boycotting Disney would be “impossible” and “huge”. Honestly, I fail to see how it would be difficult to boycott Disney for a year if you are an engaged parent with even an ounce of creativity. It makes me wonder if you are not simply jumping on the bandwagon of writer/bloggers trying to replicate the success of people like Julie Powell and Gretchen Rubin. There are hundreds of amazing parents out there blogging about their daily lives who have so much more to offer, like The Artful Parent and Soule Mama. Check them out and then ask yourself if it is really that difficult to do what you are doing.
Hi June, quotes are not always as they seem. What I said was that I wondered if we could boycott Disney, it seemed impossible because they are so huge. So that’s why we’re trying.
I wish I could refute your hypothesis that I am jumping on the Powell/Rubin bandwagon, but since I don’t know who they are that DOES seem impossible. I also read many wonderful parenting blogs (so many, in fact, that I rarely have time to engage or be creative with my kids). So now, I will ask myself: Is this really so difficult? And I’ll answer myself: I don’t know yet. It’s only been a month. We haven’t hit football season. We haven’t been back-to-school shopping and we don’t know yet what school assignments await the kids this year. We haven’t had to buy or receive Christmas gifts yet. We don’t know what movies will come out this year. We don’t know what books will be published. Not sure where we’ll be traveling and what radio stations we might get. We still have two kids’ birthday parties to get through and lots of time that will be spent with friends. And I have many, many trips yet to make to the grocery store.
Check back with me next summer, and I will have the answer you seek. Or I seek. Whatever.
uncontrolled capitalism is a very dangerous thing.
First off, Disney is a corporation with offices in America, but that doesn’t mean it has any loyalty to America or that it truly is some American company. It is owned by people from all over the world, mostly through international mutual funds. Therefore, it technically isn’t some American owned, made in America kind of corporation that American’s should show any form of allegiance to. Even if one accepts the hypothesis that it is anti-American to not consume products from every American corporation in existence.
This corporation, that is owned by international stock holders, is also an international corporation in that is has sales, offices, theme parks, etc. outside of the USA. It has dealings with the brutal dictators of Communist China. It is on the boycott list of the boycott Israel movement because of its dealings with and influence on the government of Israel. This is ironic considering how publicly anti-Semitic the Disney founder was in his time. It really is an international corporation, otherwise known as a multi-national corporation. They sell their crap and their movies all over the globe.
It is just part of the Disney myth to consider Disney as some symbol of America and not based in the reality of the corporation. Sure they offer jobs, but how many of those jobs are done by people outside of America? What are the conditions and pay of the few jobs they offer in the US? In the jobs that are outsourced overseas? Who makes all the cheap plastic, crap they use to brand their movies? Americans? No! Although, I guess we Americans should be grateful for all the Walmart jobs we get to sell the Disney crap that is made outside of America!
Secondly (and sarcastically), I noticed that Steve Jobs is a stock holder and board member. Does this mean I would have to boycott Apple too in order to fully boycott Disney? I sure hope not.