Two Cents Plain will be an ongoing feature of The Official Jewish American Princess Home Page and will contain viewpoints, opinions, editorials, etc...  All input will be considered and we will also post all sincere, well thought out responses to these features.

Yesterday, June 18, 1997, in the city in which I reside, Dallas,Texas, the Southern Baptist Convention voted to boycott the Disney Company and all their related entities.  This exalted decision is based upon the belief that Disney has become 'too friendly' toward gays and lesbians, with the main focus being their allowance of company health benefits to same-sex partners of employees.

This would be laughable, if it weren't so tragic and pathetic.   The very people who consider themselves so righteous and so Christian would deny health benefits to a people, any people, who do not conform to their idea  of how to conduct their lives.  This smacks of discrimination and intolerance at best, and fascism or nazism at worst.  The ironic part, and what I am sure has not been realized by these zealots, is that when a person can not get private health insurance through employment or other means, he often becomes eligible for medicare or medicaid . . . government assistance.

Government assistance is not provided by the government; it is provided by you and me.  It is provided in part by the 15 million Southern Baptists.  Let's take a look at what these Southern Baptists will need to do to rearrange their lives to avoid all things Disney.

• In addition to the ABC television Network, Disney owns part of all of several cable channels, including ESPN, A&E, which features classic films and arts programming, and Lifetime, which focuses on women's lifestyles.   These will all need to be cancelled.

• Disney produces several syndicated TV shows, including 'Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee,' and 'Siskel and Ebert.'  Uh uh.....better not tune in; someone will see you!!!

• The current box-office hit, 'Con Air' is a Disney film, as well as, of course, the upcoming animated 'Hercules'.  Hey, you better not buy that Hercules lunch box or action figure!

• Five film studios are owned by the Disney company.

• The Disney Company has a stake in Hyperion Press.  They have an upcoming parenting book called 'School is Not a Four-Letter Word:  How to Help Your Child Make the Grade'.

• Better not read the science magazine 'Discover' or the medical journal 'Skin' and 'Allergy News.'

Southern Baptists will need to do their research as not all Disney products or projects obviously show the Disney touch.   Oh...no watching the Mighty Ducks hockey team this year, and better not attend or watch the Anaheim Angels major league baseball team!

Here's a good one:  The Rev. Wiley Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park, California instigated the boycott discussion at last year's convention.  But, he said that, during the past year, he continued using his family's five annual passes to Disneyland because he'd already paid for them.   Hey, Rev!  Ever hear of donating your tickets to the Make a Wish Foundation?  Well, Rev. Drake, at least let's hope you didn't unwittingly support the theme park even further by buying your family a soft drink, hot dog, or souvenir at the park.  I hope you brought your lunch from off the premises . . . hhhhmmmm . . . hope it wasn't McDonalds, or you you might have been tempted to pick up a Hercules action figure for the kids.

Poor former convention president Jim Henry, pastor of Orlando's 10,000 member First Baptist Church.   He stood to speak against the resolution during the convention, but the vote was taken before he could be recognized.  Dr. Henry's church is near Disney World, and some of his members work there.  They will no doubt have to quit their jobs in keeping with the boycott.  In addition, Dr. Henry's church service has been broadcasted by an ABC affiliate (Disney) for 25 years.  I guess Dr. Henry is facing a dilemma.  He will need to cancel his broadcasting contract, and his 10,000 members will actually have to go to his service instead of watching it from their living rooms.

I could go on and on about the far-reaching fingers of the Disney Company.  What is very, very serious to me is the power that one group of people, who are absolutely sure of their self-righteousness and are so arrogant about it, can exert over others with whom they disagree.  Let us hope that this type of prejudicial bullying will have no effect whatsoever on the company who produces the most family-oriented entertainment in the world.  And, when it comes to its employees, one of the fairest it seems.

I applaud Disney's stance on offering more people needed health benefits, where so many private sector companies are looking for ways to reduce employee benefits.   The more companies extend benefits, the less the public will need to pay for them!   I for one will consciously increase my patronage of Disney products.  I am on my way to McDonald's to buy my Happy Meal to get my Hercules toy.  I hope there will be a run on them.

*Some of the above information was gleaned from the Dallas Morning News.

As I was "waking up" this morning (like I really ever wake up!) I thought about our last exchange about the Southern Baptists and Disney, and what I'd said about humor; and have some more serious thoughts on the topic.

Their, the Southern Baptists, reaction to the Disney company's extension of benefits to "non traditional" family members is appalling to me in its arrogance and lack of acceptance of ways of living different from theirs and, as was pointed out in the opinion to which I was responding, does them - the Baptists - more economic and social harm than good.  It also shows them up to be narrow minded, reactionary and "fair game" for public scorn by we "enlightened" citizens.  But, to merely hold them up to public scorn only makes us no better or worse than they are.  What does that say about the spirit of humor with which I claim to enjoy the JAP jokes?  

To mock this group of people and take our whole impression of them from the actions of the few would be to adopt the narrow-mindedness and arrogance which we mock, and call into question our acceptance of those who’s life styles differ from ours.  I'm sure . . . well, fairly sure ;-) . . . that not all young ladies of the Jewish persuasion are "JAPs."  Not all of them salivate when passing a shopping mall or dream of Bloomies, and certainly there are at least a few Jewish young men who have had sex (where do Jewish babies come from?)  

Not all Southern Baptists are as rigidly unbending as are some of their leaders.  I expect that few will, in fact, impose the full effects of the boycott the conference declared and would not have done so even if it hadn't been so expansive.  There are those who will be as embarrassed by the boycott as we are incensed, some may even leave that denomination as a result.  Others will quietly ignore the boycott.

The boycott is an example of a social behavior which is oppressive and destructive, and should not go unnoticed.  Humor is, to my way of thinking, a better tool for bringing such behavior to light than counter boycotts or even more destructive reactions.  But, I must remember that it is the behavior I ridicule regardless of who so behaves, not the people and certainly not a particular group of people.  I must remember my past and some of the impressions and beliefs I held which grew and evolved only by my eventual honest reflection.  (After all, I was reared a Southern Baptist and followed blindly the path of such leaders for many years.)

There will be some unfortunate results from this boycott I'm afraid.  But, there will be good from the reactions of many who, on seeing the effects of the boycott on their own thoughts and beliefs, reject the narrow-mindedness it champions and as a result become more accepting and tolerant . . . Southern Baptists, gays and lesbians, and at least one "reformed" Southern Baptist.  

This response to Two Cents Plain was submitted by Bob G.

Any comments regarding the content of Two Cents Plain should be sent to either the author or the site administrator listed below.