Mouse Trap in Florida?

I'm no expert on government or business models, but it seems a little strange --and scary-- that Florida Gov. DeSantis has mounted what appears to be the start of a hostile takeover by his state government of a private business; in short, he's put his acolytes in charge of Disney World. Not only is the special district that has been the arrangement with Disney for decades dissolved, DeSantis has proposed putting his acolytes in charge of the development board. This new board includes major donors, an election lawyer, and an ultra-conservative school board member. They are committed to returning the theme park to what they believe Walt Disney envisioned-- cue Song of the South? That ship sailed--we, as a culture, should reject racism and exclusionary practices. The fight against inclusivity in Florida (and elsewhere in this country) is rampant, and ultimately, it will turn hurtful, not just financially, but to a large portion of the visitors who would like to go to the "happiest place on earth."

An authoritarian regime takes over the House of Mouse. Does this mean that the next move is that the catalog gets scrubbed? There's already been a lot of pushback about "changing" the ethnicity of Ariel-- I'm not sure mermaids have a race, but that argument is alive and well among ultra-conservatives who need a hobby. It starts with the theme park, but what then? This whole situation is rooted in a personal grudge; Disney refused to back DeSantis' play (the "don't say gay bill" and other draconian measures that affect schools at all levels), so he's squeezing the business in any way he can. This is personal, and it's ugly.

All the existential dread aside (and trust me, there's boatloads of it), since when does government seize control of a business to remake it in its own image? O wait. It's about money and dogma. This smacks of fascism, at least as it is defined. 

If this is any indication of what would happen to the business world under his authoritarian control on a national level, well, it looks pretty darned scary to me. DeSantis has already seized control of education, including the small liberal arts New College, where he removed their board and replaced it with hard-liner conservatives who have vowed to end all "diversity, equity, and inclusion programs" and they have floated the idea of terminating all faculty and bringing in only those new faculty who adhere to their idea of traditional "American values." 

Florida is looking pretty bleak. Someone should tell him that 1984 was a work of dystopian fiction, not a blueprint.

Take care,

C