The Walt Disney Corporation recently launched a new diversity and inclusion program that teaches its employees about things like systemic racism, transphobia, white privilege, and unconscious bias, and nobody is more upset about it than Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina.
Yesterday, the 25-year-old Nazi enthusiast took to Twitter to voice his outrage over the whole thing.
“These documents should concern everyone,” he tweeted. “America is not a racist country. The only racists are the people at @Disney who are directing white employees to ‘not question or debate anything they are told by Black people.’ The woke anti-racists are the real racists.”
These documents should concern everyone.
America is not a racist country.
The only racists are the people at @Disney who are directing white employees to “not question or debate anything they are told by Black people.”
The woke anti-racists are the real racists. https://t.co/mMlmPBPh1y
— Rep. Madison Cawthorn (@RepCawthorn) May 10, 2021
For the record, Disney is not instructing its white employees to “not question or debate anything they are told by Black people.” It is, however, encouraging them to be more open-minded and accepting of others.
How about we take this to the next level?
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According to documents obtained by City Journal, the company’s new diversity and inclusion program notes that the United States has a “long history of systemic racism and transphobia” (fact!) and it is encouraging its employees to “take ownership of educating yourself about structural anti-Black racism” (great idea!) and “not rely on your Black colleagues to educate you” (because it’s not their damn job!).
The training also recognizes that some white people may have “feelings of guilt, shame, and defensiveness” but it encourages them to work through those emotions and “listen with empathy [to] Black colleagues” and “not question or debate Black colleagues’ lived experience.”
All good things.
Part of the program includes a check list to teach participants about their own privilege. The list includes markers like “I am white,” “I am heterosexual,” “I am a man,” “I still identify as the gender I was born in,” and so on.
Also a good thing. Unless, of course, you’re Madison Cawthorn.
Here’s how folx responded to the antigay lawmaker’s outrage over Disney’s new diversity and inclusion program…
You have dangerously misquoted the document.
— Sean O (@sposhe) May 10, 2021
You’re a Hitler fan, right?
— Rich Morgan (@RLM19382) May 10, 2021
You are the reason many companies have Diversity classes. And the reason I 100% support them Madison. History!
— Ken Dean (@kendean20005) May 10, 2021
America may not be a racist country. But many of its citizens — including you — are racist.
Addressing racial issues is not in and of itself racist.
But ranking blow jobs based on the race of the female giving the blow jobs — as Madison Cawthorn has — is most definitely racist.
— WNC Political Operative (@WNC_Politico) May 10, 2021
@mtgreenee tried starting a white Anglo Saxon caucus. That’s pretty racist if you ask me. #WhiteSupremacy
— Trump Lost (@EmpressPug) May 10, 2021
You are deliberately misrepresenting what the Disney brochure says. In fact, you are lying about it. No one is “directing white employees to “not question or debate anything they are told by Black people”” as you say they are. The brochure says: pic.twitter.com/zy32IWaxu1
— Carolinatralala (@Carolinatralala) May 10, 2021
Our nazi congressman, once again showing he doesn’t read much, even the stuff he posts
— Pete McCabe (@RocinanteRider) May 10, 2021
This coming from a racist, nazi supporting, homophobic transphobic moron who clearly doesn’t know how racism works. Racism is alive and well and living in the dank and deprived hearts of the Republican Party and its supporters.
— alex_white7 (@alex_alexwhite7) May 10, 2021
I guess when you’re homeschooled by your mom and live a white privileged life in WNC, you wouldn’t know much about systemic racism.
Our Founding Fathers had slaves, moron.
Our country was built on the backs of slave labor and Native American genocide. Educate yourself.
— Science Matters (@trustscience92) May 10, 2021
Stay in your lane child. What happened to government not interfering with private enterprise?
— Brent Jerricho (@BrentJerricho) May 11, 2021
Not racist, just offended by the idea of other white people having to listen to black voices without telling them why they are wrong.
— Dave Ferrell (@canyoufixthat) May 10, 2021
“America is not a racist country.”
But we do have plenty of racists like you in positions of authority, so we’re kind of splitting hairs.
— Jedi, Interrupted 🏳️🌈💛 (@JediCounselor) May 10, 2021
Graham Gremore is the Features Editor and a Staff Writer at Queerty. Follow him on Twitter @grahamgremore.
Cam
What needs to happen is companies like Disney need to start suing these politicians who are lying about them.
Make their be consequences for lying.
zealot
I could not agree more. But I fear he’d just start a Go Fund Me to pay his attorney’s retainer. There also seem to be no lack of brain-dead Republi-automotons who donate to other racist haters like this. All they have to do is whine that they’re being targeted by the radical left, cancel-culture liberals. Ever the snowflake role with these people.
MacAdvisor
There is not any legal theory under which a person or company can recover for being lied about, only if they are being defamed. Moreover, as a well-known public entity, Disney would need to demonstrate actual malice to prevail. Nothing in Cawthorn’s comments seem defamatory, nor does he demonstrate malice. While anybody can sue anybody for anything at any time, a company like Disney would certainly be sanctioned by the court for filing unmeritorious lawsuit.
Cam
@MacAdvisor
Disney, to show damage, can take a snapshot of the responses to his tweet of a bunch of accounts saying “I’m never going to go to Disney again”.
At a minimum, they can send him evidence that he is wrong, and now that he knows that, demand a retraction. If he doesn’t give one, then they can sue because that would show that the lying is intentional.
MacAdvisor
Cam,
Until on can demonstrate the defamation, damages are irrelevant. Cawthorn has every right to disagree with Disney on policy and to suggest the policy is wrong. That is not defamation. There isn’t a defamation case here.
zealot
There seems to be an inverse relationship between hate and I.Q. The higher the one, the lower the other.
Kangol2
For the most part, yes, though you do have some high IQ haters, like William Shockley, James Watson (the White supremacist who eventually learned he had direct African ancestry, etc.), etc.
Mack
What do you expect from a liar who represents the Party of Liars? Expect something from the Head Liar-Orange Cheeto- today or tomorrow.
Kenny C
Why would a white person question and debate something they are told about the black experience in this country by a black person. Its no different than a cisgender straight man questioning and debating gay man about his experience or a man questioning and debating child birth with a woman.
All that is requested is empathy or an attempt to understand different perspectives. At this point, I would settle. You can just tell me you don’t give a flip about how black people feel because it makes you uncomfortable . But in return, just leave black people alone and let us live in our dignity and joy.
Wicked Dickie
Does he not understand that the Nazis would have put him in the chambers also? He’s in a wheelchair, hence, disabled, hence, not pure.
BoomerMyles
Great point! The Nazis would take people in wheelchairs to a high floor with a balcony or on a roof and spill them out of the wheelchair to their death.
Liquid Silver
Private company, private rules. Now if Maddy here wants to try a socialist takeover…well, unfortunately I’m sure he wouldn’t even see the irony.
Mister P
He’s a whiny little bitch just like Cucker Tarlson.
Fahd
Disney is busy creating and maintaining the happiest place(s) on earth, replete with accommodations for visitors with disabilities, btw. They really can’t be bothered with this last offspring of the bottom of the white-power barrel screaming to stop progress now.
He’d serve his constituency and the general public better if he pointed out that Disney has a ways to go in paying their cast members (employees) better.
BoomerMyles
Cawthorn thinks if a tree falls on a POC in the forest and no one is around to hear it then it didn’t really happen.
jcool
i guess i’d be bitter also if i was 25 and my dick didn’t work
Liquid Silver
It would be nicer to make a comment about his politics rather than disability-shame.
Besides, some paraplegics dicks work…well, just fine. It depends on the injury.
Roy Moss
Not exactly shocking is it? All Republicans are basically hate driven neo-Fascists.
Creamsicle
I’m generally pro-progressive politics and encouraging discussions about race to better understanding between people.
Really the only “woke” vocab I take issue with is the word “folx.” “Folks” is already gender neutral!
quantum
But from m-w,
“Definition of folx
: FOLKS —used especially to explicitly signal the inclusion of groups commonly marginalized”
and interestingly, its first recorded use predates “latinx” by ten years to 1997, so you are arguing over a word that has been used for two decades at this point. By comparison, the word “google” as in I “googled madison crawthorn” originates in the year 2000. Similarly, words like “like”, “subscribe”, and “follow” have had expanded definitions in the internet age but are in more common usage because they are not tied to marginalized groups.
Language is in constant flux.
QueerNationDetroit
1. a country is an illusion and can’t be racist, only the people in it can be. And compared to most of the world, the U.S. as a people are not very racist. In fact most white countries are. And the use of white supremacy is mostly just a fad used by the machine to spread fear and disturb unity.
2. Anyone could have made this, and I don’t trust anything called breaking911. So we should question whether this is even real to begin with.
3. no person should be oppressed by any other person, which includes eliminating their freedom to express themselves. And part of expressing ones self is to be able to defend ones self and share their own viewpoints, or else people will just internalize everything and won’t be able to learn from it.
QueerNationDetroit
I meant aren’t not are.
Annaronimo
1. America is extremely racist. And way too okay with killing ethnic minorities. Yes, ALL white countries have racism and racist policy and law. America is definitely ahead of the pack, however.
3. Freedom of expression is what Cawthorn and his ilk are trying to suppress.
Cam
It’s cute when Neo Nazis say things like “Nobody should be oppressed, INCUDING THE RIGHT TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES”.
See, that’s where the raci-ists think they’re being clever, because to them, expressing themselves means attacking others for their race, or if they’re LGBTQ.
We get it precious, the very idea that there should be consequences for your rac-ism or bigotry enrages you no matter what screename you’re under.
MissTerri
Disney should stick to the fairy tales and teacup rides – the things they are actually GOOD AT. NEXT!!!
Cam
Oooo, the right wing troll switched to ANOTHER screename because it is so outraged that Disney has a policy against rac-ism.
MissTerri
There you are, all Flapping again!!!
rickywintour
You never miss a chance to be a bigoted evil pathetic old troll do you Terri? How about you go find something to do bitter dried up bag.
Man About Town
Bill Maher’s comment on Maddy: “I’ve thrown up scotch older than this prick.”
Mister P
No one should use the word folks.
Those who do are trying to sound relatable when they aren’t.