This week’s column is a bit special, as not only does it stem from a place very near and dear to yours truly – Walt Disney World – but it also addresses not one, but two issues for the price of one! You won’t find a bargain like that on just any writer’s website, so let’s dive right into the news and get on with it…
The story came out of Downtown Disney about a week ago regarding some youth that were banned for life from Disney’s shopping and entertainment district after allegedly loitering in the area for an extended period of time. In an effort to control crowds, maintain the safety of all of their guests, and essentially just keep everything running smoothly, Disney security has been cracking down quite a bit on loitering recently after concerned of “gang-like activity” were identified by the company, issuing some 48 warnings for trespassing over only two weekends after it was determined that they needed to take a handle on any loitering problems before they could get any further out of hand. In the case of the four young men who were banned this time, it was reported by local news that they had cited intentions to go see a movie, even though their tickets were for a movie that had already started, and after being asked to either go watch the movie or leave the premises, they “failed to cooperate.” This was apparently the straw that broke security’s back, and as they’d already addressed them for other incidents such as attempting to enter Pleasure Island after 11:00pm when the complex’s admittance policy changes to adults 21 and older only, they were taken somewhere to wait for their parents to come pick them up, fingerprinted, and issued citations to not come back … ever.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that they just so happened to be black? We’ll get to that part in a minute…
Now to be honest with you, this story hits a little close to home for me, and not in the nicest of ways, because pretty much as long as I can imagine, I’ve always been on the opposite side of what we’re facing here – where is it ok for kids to just hang out? When I got to my teenage years growing up where suddenly parents weren’t cool and there was mischief to be caused around every corner, wanna know where you found me and my friends? Hanging out in one of our parents’ basements – whether it was playing music or watching TV and movies or just sitting around. Occasionally we would go to local stores or to the mall, but when we were there, we would buy things. I never understood the idea of just going to the mall to hang out as a kid, and now a decade or so later, I find that it just rubs me even more because I can see the other side of the coin, too.
Whether you like it or not, the main point of the mall is for the store owners who’ve setup shop there to make money. It’s not there to be a trendy hang out for teenagers, much less a free babysitter for parents too cheap or lazy to raise their own children. In fact, there are certain malls in the area that I won’t even go to anymore simply because that’s the kind of reputation that they have – parents drop their kids off or they just end up congregating there all afternoon and evening, they don’t actually buy anything, and because they’re just there to “hang out,” they also tend to be disruptive to the rest of the mall patrons who actually are there to pick up this, that, or the other thing. If nothing is done about it, the mall likewise gets a reputation like the one down the street from me, people stop shopping there, and profits fall through the floor. And why, because shop keepers should cater to people just hanging around, bothering their customers and not buying anything in return? Forget that!
That said, I got really annoyed when I started following what was happening here because I do spend an awful lot of time (and money) at Walt Disney World and particularly, I enjoy spending evenings down at Downtown Disney. I would really hate to see it turn into just another teen hangout where people can’t go without kids screwing around, using language that isn’t appropriate for Disney, and generally making people feel uncomfortable when it’s supposed to be a family setting. And don’t get me wrong – I have absolutely no problem with a group of kids who wants to come down to Downtown Disney, grab a bite to eat, and catch a movie, or even just browse through the stores and people watch, for that matter! I spend a lot of my time there doing the exact same thing, but the key is this – it’s not disruptive to the other guests. When you start trying to sneak into bars and clubs where you’re not old enough to be or using foul language in a public setting, a line has to be drawn and I applaud Disney for taking the steps to maintain their property for their guests.
Part two, on the other hand, isn’t one that I’m going to touch on for very long because it’s just not worth the time, but I still think it’s worth mentioning alongside this story because as you may have already guessed after I mentioned it earlier, now the boys and their parents are playing the race card because they’re black and of course, these judgments simply could only be because the kids are black. Yep – white kids are allowed to loiter, steal, bad-mouth authority, and generally do whatever the hell they want, but we’ve just got to keep an eye on those black folks – they’re the bad ones out there?! Give me a break! Here’s a thought – maybe everyone they’ve caught thus far just happened to be black … it doesn’t have to have a racial spin unless you put one there because honestly, it’s in piddly, little cases like these when accusations of racism start getting thrown around when it loses its original intensity. Your kid wasn’t kicked out of Disney because he’s black – he was kicked out because he was trying to go into a club marked 21+, and if it happened at any other bar in the city, it wouldn’t have even made the paper because it does happen every single day. But accusing Disney of racism gets you lots of press, despite the fact that mouthing off to a security guard and Rosa Parks being sent to the back of the bus are two very different scenarios…
I actually wish that other establishments would follow Disney’s example and start to crack down on inappropriate behavior at their places of business as well because not only does it make the area more pleasant who do want to come spend our time and money there, clearly Disney already knows that their bottom line will be affected if they allow their own mall to become the after-school hangout. There are plenty of other places for that – the park, friends’ houses, even *gasp* the library – and it’s not right to expect people who are just trying to make a living to have to cater to people who are there to do anything but contribute to that goal. And yes, these kids just happened to be black, but I don’t think it’s ok for any kids to just be hanging out in a place like that just because they have nothing better to do. Spend a little money and be part of the magic yourselves, but don’t ruin it for other people just for your own self amusement – that’s not ok whatever color you are…
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