[CONTROVERSIAL OPINION]-The problems of the recent protest movements · 6:26am Jun 27th, 2020

Over the last few weeks, it will come as no surprise to anybody that mass protests have erupted here in Britain as well, in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis cop. We've had marches, demonstrations, riots (some of which resulted in very serious injuries on both sides), defacement of public monuments, and in Bristol a statue of a slaveowner was thrown into the sea.

Most recently, Disney announced plans to retheme Splash Mountain after The Princess and the Frog. This is because of the alleged racist undertones of Song of the South, despite the fact none of the live action elements that people criticise about the film are present in the ride.

And this brings me onto my main point. I think these protests and rethemes and renames are ultimately counterproductive.

Why, you might ask?

Because, when you tear down a statue or rename a street or any of those things, you are drawing attention away from the problem. Retheming a log flume isn't going to do anything about the problem of police brutality or race relations in the United States. It's people trying to score Brownie points by trying to look good (usually whilst blasting NWA's 'F the Police' at eardrum burstingly loud volume). I do agree that Black Lives Matter, but we're going about it in entirely the wrong way.

So, instead, I implore you all to assist and help improve race relations in your area any way you can, and in a peaceful way.

This is The Blue EM2, signing off.

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Godslittleprincess

Godslittleprincess #1 · Jun 27th, 2020 · 1 · ·

I honestly didn't have a problem with Splash Mountain's original theme mostly because I've never heard of it before. Then again, I don't have a problem with the new theme either. The Princess and the Frog was a good movie, and I'm sure more than a few of its fans feel that it's a little underappreciated for a Disney princess movie and are more than happy that refitting the ride is giving the movie more attention.

The Blue EM2

The Blue EM2 #2 · Jun 27th, 2020 · 1 · ·

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I don't either. My problem isn't with the retheming; I fear that the responses to the crisis are drawing attention away from the core problem, and no amount of rioting or looting (as we've been seeing in the UK) is going to change it.

But sadly, I cannot publically make those claims, because in the eyes of many people my age that makes me an apologist for police brutality.

Godslittleprincess

Godslittleprincess #3 · Jun 27th, 2020 · · ·

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I didn't even consider that the new theme might have been in response to the George Floyd protests. All I know is that my Disney nerd friend (and some famous Disney nerd celebrities) responded to the change positively because the new theme gave an (arguably) underrated movie some (arguably) deserved attention. So, you think that Disney only changed the ride theme because they were worried about looking racist to their patrons and the fact that The Princess and the Frog happened to have more fans compared to the relatively unknown Song of the South was just a big coincidence? Okay, assuming that you are right about Disney's motivations for changing the ride, I will agree that it's a pretty shallow motivation.

The Blue EM2

The Blue EM2 #4 · Jun 27th, 2020 · · ·

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The timing is a little suspect to me, but it's just my opinion. Don't take it as gospel.

Wessexbrony

Wessexbrony #5 · Jun 27th, 2020 · · ·

The other problem is that they're now going after figures like Wellington, Nelson and Churchill. As well as Abraham Lincoln, that notorious racist who *checks notes* abolished slavery in America.

The Blue EM2