DeSantis is Losing His ‘War on Woke’

The courts have resisted his efforts to change how Floridians think about and teach about race and gender identity.

Some Republicans of the far right used this tactic to oppose the company. 

DeSantis’ Parental Rights in Education Act, which opponents frequently refer to as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, was recently weakened by a court settlement. 

At first, it was called the Stop WOKE Act. This was the beginning of his efforts to change how race and gender identity are taught in schools and workplaces.

This law, which was later renamed the Individual Freedom Act, helped DeSantis politically by rallying conservatives in Florida and ensuring his reelection in 2022. However, it encountered difficulties legally.

An appeals court ruled last year that colleges and universities could not use it. 

Shalini Goel Agarwal, an attorney for the businesses that had filed the lawsuit, stated, “The court resoundingly rejected the STOP WOKE Act as applied to employers and said it was in plain violation of the First Amendment”

Four federal judges, including two appointed by former President Donald Trump, have now blocked the law, so it’s unlikely to happen again.

He has referred to himself as the defender of kids and has signed into law many anti-LGBTQ+ measures that affect schools, businesses, and healthcare.

He claims that DEI is changing historical events to fictional instead of factual when being taught in schools, so he plans to reverse this by getting rid of DEI altogether.

However, DeSantis has never been convinced of this. In response, he said, “They call it equity,” and told his supporters that if they hear that word being used, it is a way for supporters of DEI to put their ideological views into the curriculum.

This is because he believes that the textbooks he wants to ban contain ideological views that children shouldn’t see, which are a part of his war on woke.

However, this has got many people’s backs up as not everyone in the US is in favor of guns and doesn’t think they should be allowed in schools.

Instead, he is only allowing the bridges to be lit up in red, white, and blue to show a sense of patriotism instead of pride.

A bill to ban flags from government buildings that represent a “political viewpoint” has stopped. DeSantis has also been working to ban pronouns from being used in the workplace, an issue that hasn’t even made its way to the court yet.

However, just eight months after he made this bid, he made the announcement that he was pulling out of the race. Had he succeeded, all of the anti-woke laws in Florida could have possibly been applied throughout the rest of the US.

This was mainly due to his reason for winning in Florida and being helped by the COVID-19 pandemic, but as voters no longer see this as a relevant reason to vote for someone, he couldn’t gain much interest.

However, DeSantis doesn’t like Disney backing LGBTQ+ rights and other social issues. As a result, Disney sued the Florida Governor for his political efforts, which they allege have hurt their business.

One of these changes is to revert to its operations pre-COVID. Since 2020, Disney World has required social distancing, and its capacity has been smaller to stick to this. However, this finally changed in January 2024, when the old measures were returned to give guests a less restrictive experience.

After being closed for seven months, Walt Disney World’s Country Bear Jamboree reopened on Wednesday, July 17. 

Liver Lips, best known for their song “My Woman Ain’t Pretty (But She Don’t Swear None),” had its name changed because it was deemed “insensitive and outdated” and had negative connotations for Black and Jewish communities.

This change is part of a larger trend at Disney Parks to fix attractions with outdated or offensive features.

These changes are a response to DeSantis’ anti-woke crusade and Disney’s efforts to embrace modern sensibilities while maintaining the charm of its classic attractions.

Even though he wanted to attack diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, many Republicans think that business owners should be able to run their companies however they see fit.

Disney, despite DeSantis’ efforts, continues to “go woke” as a result of this ongoing feud, which demonstrates the complicated landscape of contemporary politics and its impact on businesses and cultural institutions.