Conservative Disney employees have had enough abuse from their progressive colleagues. They feel as though they are under attack for their beliefs as the controversy over H.B.1557, Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill continues to play out. They published an unsigned letter this week slamming their colleagues for creating an ‘increasingly uncomfortable’ work environment.

The bill is also known as the Don’t Say Gay bill by its opponents. Conservative employees asked that the company remain politically neutral in the open letter. They are frustrated by CEO Bob Chapek’s flip flop over getting in involved in the opposition to the bill. At first, when criticized by progressives for not weighing in quickly, he said, “As we have seen time and time again, corporate statements do very little to change outcomes or minds. Instead, they are often weaponized by one side or the other to further divide and inflame.” Then he caved to LGBTQ activists. Chapek spoke out against H.B.1557 at a shareholders’ meeting after the bill was passed. He announced a pause on political donations in Florida and promised that Disney would contribute millions of dollars more to LGBTQ causes. He also said he would meet with Governor DeSantis to voice his and Disney’s opposition to the bill. He didn’t just flip on his response, he cannonballed into the controversy. What a moronic move.

Conservative employees say that they have become invisible within the company.

The employees heaped praise on Disney, noting that “our work contributes to a fountain of wonder that inspires joy, awe, and delight in guests and audiences of all ages.” However, they warned that “over the last few years, one group of cast members has become invisible within the company.”

“The Walt Disney Company has come to be an increasingly uncomfortable place to work for those of us whose political and religious views are not explicitly progressive,” the employees wrote. “We watch quietly as our beliefs come under attack from our own employer, and we frequently see those who share our opinions condemned as villains by our own leadership.”

The employees noted Disney’s “Reimagine Tomorrow” campaign to promote “underrepresented voices” and noted that “the tomorrow being reimagined doesn’t seem to have much room for religious or political conservatives within the company. Left-leaning cast members are free to promote their agenda and organize on company time using company resources. They call their fellow employees ‘bigots’ and pressure TWDC to use corporate influence to further their left-wing legislative goals.”

The employees recounted their experience with an internal poll “asking us if we felt accepted in the company.”

“Many of us didn’t complete it because the nature of the questions made us worry that the results of the poll could be used to target us for quietly holding a position that runs against the progressive orthodoxy that Disney seems to promote,” the employees wrote. “TWDC has fostered an environment of fear that any employee who does not toe the line will be exposed and dismissed.”

It is understandable that they would be concerned about retaliation for not conforming to progressive views, especially when it comes to sexual agendas and the LGBTQ community. There is no room for differing opinions and there are few companies who remain silent on any political issue these days. There are consequences for being bold enough to disagree with groupthink.

The conservative employees remind Disney that not all of their customers are progressives. Eventually, they will feel as unwelcome as conservative employees do now and go elsewhere with their entertainment dollars. They state a mistake I have never understood why companies continue to make – by taking progressive political stances, the general public takes that to mean the entire company is of those opinions and it kills at least a percentage of that company’s business. We live in a deeply divided country. Businesses have to at least pretend to welcome conservatives as well as progressives in order to survive. Excluding one demographic is financial suicide.

Employees who want TWDC to make left-wing political statements are encouraged, while those of us who want the company to remain neutral can say so only in a whisper out of fear of professional retaliation. The company we love seems to think we don’t exist or don’t belong here. This politicization of our corporate culture is damaging morale and causing many of us to feel our days with TWDC might be numbered.

Furthermore, as this politicization makes its way into our content and public messaging, our more conservative customers will feel similarly unwanted. You can only preach at or vilify your audience for so long before they decide to spend their money elsewhere.

Progressive Disney employees staged a walk-out this week. Their demands line up perfectly with the remarks Bob Chapek delivered to shareholders. He followed orders from them.

Opponents mischaracterize the bill. They say it is an anti-gay bill when what it actually does is prohibit teachers of school children in kindergarten through third grade from discussing explicit sexual subjects in the classroom. It is a deliberate campaign to smear conservative lawmakers in Florida, especially Governor DeSantis, before the midterm elections and then the 2024 presidential election. Democrats are nervous that DeSantis may run for president. If he did, he’d have a good chance of being successful – he’s Trump without the baggage. He’s articulate and doesn’t back down from confronting his critics. After four years of bumbling, feeble Joe Biden, voters will be hungry for a change.

Disney was once called the happiest place on earth. Unfortunately, the Age of Wokeism is ending that claim. Families notice when a company looks the other way and lets woke employees run the place. If conservatives who hold opinions different than those of activist progressives no longer feel welcomed in a place like Disney World, they will take their business elsewhere.