Thoughts on the Southern Baptist
boycott of Disney

Here are some insightful writings I've come across on the subject

From the Austin American-Statesman
COMMENTARY Sunday, June 28, 1997
"True confession of a newly outed Southern Baptist"

It's time I came out of the closet. I'm tired of the lying, the hiding, the knowing looks from my brethren, So here goes:

I, Greg Bass, am Southern Baptist.

And being Baptist, I am by nature an expert on all things Christian and anti-Christian. So I tell you it's high time we Southern Baptists got around to boycotting Disney, and not just for the obvious reasons -- like how Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Pluto, et al., galavant around half naked. As a newly outed Southern Baptist, I feel safe in saying that there is absolutely nothing Christian about exposing children to a bunch of rodent nudists.

But I can also tell you that, despite my personal feelings, exposed mice did not boil our collective Baptist blood. Instead, we are boycotting Disney now because the company is -- women and children avert your eyes -- promoting homosexuality.

The American Family Association first caught onto Disney's act when the movie "Lion King" came out. Turns out that "Lion King" is pro-gay. Maybe you missed the subtext at first, as I did, but I have now been informed by my Baptist brothers that Timon the meerkat and Pumba the warthog were homosexual lovers. The telling clue, as far as I can tell, was that every time Pumba and Timon got together, they sang show tunes. What more proof do you need?

But we Southern Baptists are slow to anger; not even this interspecies, intrasexual union pushed us into action. Not even Ellen coming out on Disney-owned ABC could do it, either. No, the final, unforgivable act was Disney extending benefits to the gay and lesbian partners of its employees.

For instance, if Timon worked for Disney, his warthog partner would be covered by their HMO. And that my friends, is how the End will begin.

In announcing the boycott, our leader, Southern Baptist Convention President Tom Ellilff, said: "We affirm God's plan for the family is one man for one woman as long as they shall live."

Which leads me to wonder why we never boycotted Disney before, seeing as how their movies have been promoting an anti-family agenda all along. Look at Pinocchio: no father; mother was a tree. Look at Dumbo: incarcerated mother; father was a stork with a long, hard beak (wink, wink). Look at Snow White. Look at Cinderella. Look at Bambi, the Little Mermaid and Aladdin. Not one of them came from an intact family. The boy in the "Jungle Book" was even raised by wolves. Then even the wolves abandoned him. You can't get more anti-family than that.

So maybe Disney is promoting divorce, too? Sure enough, I checked and found out that Disney also extends benefits to the new spouses of employees who divorced and remarried. So there you have it. If Disney is promoting homosexuality, it is also promoting divorce. But my fellow Southern Baptists would never boycott over that. There's grey areas, they say, and there's outright sin.

Now if there's one thing I'm sure of about being a Southern Baptist, it's that it means we're Christians. Followers of Jesus, whom we call Christ. So I looked up what Jesus said. It's all in four little books we call the Gospels. Turns out Jesus never talked about homosexuals. Turns out he did talk about divorce. Many times. Here's what he said: Don't do it, except over adultery. Period.

So why don't my Baptist brethren.say Disney has a hidden pro-divorce agenda and boycott over that? Maybe it's because of a couple of other things Jesus said. Like, Judge not or you'll be judged. And, Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.

Turns out, we're occasionally good at applying these, at not judging people, but only when those people look and act like us. That's because their mistakes look like our mistakes. Judging them would be judging ourselves.

But the more different we think some people are, the easier it is to point a finger at them without seeing three fingers pointing back at us. And if there's one thing we Southern Baptists as a group are sure of, it's that homosexuals are completely different from us. They are, therefore, fair game.

And as a newly outed Southern Baptist, and more importantly as a follower of Jesus, I feel safe in saying that there is absolutely nothing Christian about that. So maybe before we get all worked up about people who we don't think are acting like Christians, we ought to start acting like Christians ourselves.

Bass, a husband and father, lives in Austin.

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A moral decline of the nation's largest Protestant denomination has reached an all-time low. The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention did not focus on caring about people. There was no strong uprising to end the bitter destruction of racism. There was no demand to offer hope and opportunity for the homeless. There were no cries to protect the environment or make health care affordable for all people.

Instead, the Baptists chose to boycott the Disney Co. for allowing gay people to visit its theme parks and for offering health benefits to the Iife partners of gay employees.

According to Baptists, Jesus commanded his followers to heal the sick. That is, unless the sick are the loved ones of gay employees. Boycotting Disney in the name of Christ is an insult to Christians everywhere.

Singling out gay people as the root of America's problems fosters an atmosphere which breeds hatred and leads to violence toward gays. The church's position turns parents against gay children, ripping apart families by spreading misinformation and lies about gay and lesbian people.

While the Baptists are directing their energy and resources at attacking the fives of millions of Americans, in 41 states productive employees can be fired simply because they are gay. Recent hate crimes statistics shows that hate crimes against gays and lesbians are on the rise. Over a third of teen suicide attempts are gay and lesbian youth who can't take another day of being told they are less than human. The Baptists are silent on all these issues and the stench of hypocrisy is in the air.

Would Jesus boycott Mickey Mouse? I think Jesus would have been much more likely to boycott the Southern Baptist Church.

Kyle Young, Houston