Ignorance to the Nth degree

[Ms. Matterhorn]

I live to serve :)

I know most people here this will not be news of any kind to LOL. But I am sure a lurker or two is staring at the screen right now with their mouth hanging open LOL

At least, one can only hope ;)

Like this? :dropmouth

Now, see what you've done, Bru? I'm hooked on emoticons!

[February]

:bugeyes: or was what I was picturing but :dropmouth works for me too :twisted:

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Like this? :dropmouth

Now, see what you've done, Bru? I'm hooked on emoticons!

I would think its' more like this: :chupacab:

[Cheshire Figment]

The following is out of my archives. It is a very strange public letter, and my very polite flaming response to it. Please note it was over 11 years ago.


From: <[email protected]>
To Whom It May Concern,
I have been paying close attention to Disney's support for "gays". This is something that I cannot support. I would like to have a letter from Disney explaining your position, so that I do not have my facts wrong.

I am a father of a AAU competitor in the sport of Karate. I work as a coach and we bring a team from Alaska to AAU national events. My Daughter just returned from New Orleans La where she and I saw that AAU and Disney are partners.

I would hate to see an entire boycott of AAU against Disney, But your public support for gays is just something me and my family cannot be surrounded by.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Edward A. Burke
8921 Boulder Bay Cir.
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
907-522-8921
907-277-7424

Below is my response:

From: Mike Tuchman
To: [email protected] Msg #1547, 18 Aug 96 07:15:00
Subject: Gay protest

Sir (and I use the term loosely):

The Walt Disney Company (and consolidated subsidiaries) supports gays in the same way it supports, whites, blacks, Asians, arabs, native Americans, Christians, Jews, Moslems, Hindu, Shinto, handicapped, and any other group you can think of. In other words, it follows all non-discrimination laws and all non-discriminatory morals.

They even allow bigots; this means you!

By the way, neither I, nor my wife Judy, are gay. However, we have friends, co-workers and even relatives who are gay. One of my closest friends, who I have known for 35 years, recently had a sex change operation. (This concept must really scare the pants off you.)

Since you are active in the AAU, why don't you ask the association's headquarters if there are any rules or restriction concerning membership of gays in the organization. Also, why don't you ask them if there are any statistics or estimates as to gays in the membership.

Once you do that, as such a homophobe you should resign from the AAU as it does accept gays.

If you have not seen Hunchback, why don't you go to a very good movie which teaches a moral called tolerance, which you seem to not have. Even better, why don't you pack up your computer, move about 1,000 miles north, and stay in a place where nothing (except maybe a hungry polar bear) can bother you.

You have raised a good question which tells the world about you. I think you will get responses from a lot of people about your bigotry; it may be curable.

--- Maximus/2 2.02
* Origin: Air 'n Sun 703-765-0822 Give a damn, don't spam! (1:109/120)

*** This is a reply to #1500.

[EeyoresButterfly]

I saw the letter the first time you posted it, not sure why you are posting it again.

As far as the situation in the OP, I am going to take a different approach than the ones so far (and this goes for the letter too): As a CM, I see it as my job to placate the guests, and despite how annoying they are or how much their beliefs are different from yours, we still have to treat them as guests. I realize that we cannot placate everybody, but clearly this guest was uncomfortable, and he has the right to decide what he wants to expose his children to. Like it or not this is hot button issue. Instead of antagonizing him further, it seems the appropriate thing to do is to emphasize that we do not condone PDA from any couples, gay or straight, and tactfully deal with the situation. I will admit that I am still not 100% comfortable with gay couples, but it's not something I obsess over. I do not think that people should be making out in public, it sounds like the two men were doing more than just a quick kiss, and I don't care if you're gay, straight, or pink with white polka dots, that is not appropriate for the park. I don't want to see it, I don't want my children to see it, and I would hope that if I approached a cast member to see if somebody could tactfully handle the situation, the cast member would be at least somewhat understanding.

[Randy B]

Sorry for another post but I was just thinking.

I wonder what the average homophobic SG would say if you told them that most of the disney movies their kids have probably grown up with and know all the songs by heart to like Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, and Lion King all have music and/or lyrics that that were written by openly gay men?

Damn, I would love to be the one to tell them just to watch the expression on their faces LOL.

I don't think people think. . .no wait. I'll just stop it there. I don't think people think!

I have relatives with similar blind spots. When they heard and believed the nonsense from that "religious" organization and just HAD to join the boycott (tho not of that faith) I asked them if they would also be boycotting all products and organizations with similar rules and regs. They immediately said yes. So I then informed them that they are now not allowed to send or receive mail (as the post office has the same rules), Are not allowed to drive on any roads (as federal and state DOTs all have similar rules), and must have absolutely no contact with any governmental agency in the United States as federal regulations specifically prohibit descrimination on basis of gender, belief, or orientation. Once I had related this they suddenly decided that they would only boycott Disney and be generaous to all those other organizations.

It's fun to take a yearly vacation to WDW and not be allowed to tell my nieces and nephew where I went or what I did as the "D" word is banned. All I could do was say I went to "Florida" and show pictures as long as the picture does not include the D word.

Of course you all know me by now. Telling me I can't just makes me devious. I got very good at following the letter of the rules while gushing about my trips. I figure that by the time the kids are old enough that they don't have to follow their parent's restrictions anymore I shouldn't have too much trouble convincing them to join me for a WDW visit (one at a time). :D:

Randy

[Amphigorey]

clearly this guest was uncomfortable, and he has the right to decide what he wants to expose his children to. Like it or not this is hot button issue. Instead of antagonizing him further, it seems the appropriate thing to do is to emphasize that we do not condone PDA from any couples, gay or straight, and tactfully deal with the situation. I will admit that I am still not 100% comfortable with gay couples, but it's not something I obsess over. I do not think that people should be making out in public, it sounds like the two men were doing more than just a quick kiss,

Since the OP didn't actually see the kissing couple, it's impossible to tell. They may have just smooched, and the guy freaked out. Homophobes will do that. Or they may have been going at it like crazed weasels. We have no idea. Therefore, I think the OP's reaction was appropriate.

(Incidentally, if you're still not comfortable with gay couples, working in Entertainment will cure you of that right quick!)

[Amphigorey]

Also, the bit about Ashman giving a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul makes me all sniffly.

[DisneyMom]

Since the OP didn't actually see the kissing couple, it's impossible to tell. They may have just smooched, and the guy freaked out. Homophobes will do that. Or they may have been going at it like crazed weasels. We have no idea. Therefore, I think the OP's reaction was appropriate.

(Incidentally, if you're still not comfortable with gay couples, working in Entertainment will cure you of that right quick!)

Crazed Weasels! *snort*

Also, the bit about Ashman giving a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul makes me all sniffly.

Very Tragic to lose him at age 40. :(

[Theme Park Where]

Very funny SG and SCM story. My father works at the resorts as a concierge. He had a guest come up to the concierge desk one time, asking what could be done about a particular problem with the room (I don't remember what the problem was). It was an easy enough fix, but the guest obviously was afraid that my father wouldn't want to do it, because he threw out the "I'm a friend of Michael Eisner's" line. My father indicated that he'd be more than happy to make the correction to the room, he just needed the guest's name and room number. The guest was Alan Menken (of Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, etc. fame)! My father called that night to tell us about it. His comment was that Menken would have been much better off dropping his OWN name, being MUCH more popular among the CMs than Eisner ever was.

Onto the SCM story. Again my father, again as concierge. A guest walks up and indicates that he needs to check in. Without looking up, my father asks for an ID. The guest hands his driver's license over. It's Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers. My father checked him in and sent him to his room, still chuckling over the fact that he'd asked him for his driver's license as proof of who he was (he was pretty recognizable once my dad looked up). Tommy must be right. Maybe their mother AND my father like Dick Smothers best!