Rainbow warriors

‘CHRIST. THEY’RE GOING AFTER MICKEY MOUSE,” said President Joe Biden in April, bemoaning the Republican party’s targeting of another American institution. A few days earlier, Florida governor Ron DeSantis had stripped Disney World of its self-governing status. Since its inception in 1967, Disney’s Florida estate has effectively operated under its own jurisdiction. Disney funds and manages public services in the district in return for autonomy over governance and development. Disney World has become the cornerstone of Florida’s tourist economy, employing 75,000 people. In Disney World’s 50th year, the company is in danger of being cast out of its own magic kingdom.

DeSantis’s move was explicitly in retaliation to Disney’s opposition to HB 1557, better known as the “Don’t say gay” law. This vaguely worded bill prohibits discussion of, or instruction on, issues of sexual orientation or gender identity in Florida schools. After the weaponisation of “critical race theory” (an academic field that considers systemic discrimination in public life), Republicans have identified LGBTQ+