DeSantis Signs Bills Into Law That Strips Disney Of Special Powers, Blocks CRT In Schools | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Ryan Saavedra.

    Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law Friday a bill that strips Walt Disney Co. from being able to govern the land where the Disney World theme park is located and a bill that effectively blocks Critical Race Theory from being pushed in classrooms.

    In reference to the bill ending Disney's special tax privileges in the state, DeSantis said, "I'm just not comfortable having that type of agenda get special treatment in my state."

    The bill eliminates the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which exempts Disney from numerous regulations and taxes and fees and reportedly saves the company tens of millions of dollars per year.

    Disney's ability to govern the area was created when the Reedy Creek Improvement Act was signed into law in May 1967. The local government did not have the resources needed to help bring Disney's 25,000 acre plan to fruition so the Reedy Creek Improvement District was established to give Disney the same authority as a county-level government.

    DeSantis commented on the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, saying, "We are not going to teach our kids to hate this country or to hate each other."

    "The law, which will go into effect on July 1, prohibits Florida's public schools and private businesses from making people feel uncomfortable or guilty over their race, sex, or national origin," WFTS reported. The bill states teachers would be able to talk about topics like sexism, racism, slavery, and racial segregation but they can't persuade students to a particular point of view."

    The governor's office noted that the bill also "expands instruction of African American history to develop students' understanding of the ramifications of prejudice and racism."

    DeSantis' office highlighted concepts that constitute unlawful discrimination:

• That members of one race, color, national origin or sex are morally superior to members of another race, color, national origin or sex.
• A person by virtue of their race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive.
• A person's moral character or status as privileged or oppressed is determined by race, color, national origin or sex.
• A person, by virtue of their race, color, national origin or sex should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment to achieve diversity, equity or inclusion.

    Christopher Rufo, Senior Fellow and Director of the Initiative on Critical Race Theory, The Manhattan Institute, praised DeSantis at the signing on Friday.

    "Critical Race Theory takes people and segregates them against each other. Individualism is not exclusive for any race, and it is patronizing to say people have different work ethic based on their skin color," Rufo said. "We are in the initial stages down a dark path, but luckily community leaders have said not in this state, not in this country. I think it is a testament to the legislators in Florida and the greatest Governor in the country right now, standing up to these people. He stood up to the lies, he stood up to the ideologs and he stood up to the big corporations because he is on your side and he's not going to back down."

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