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Opinion: M-I-C-K-E-Y: He's a groomer, too!
This groomer talk is silly
Link to tweet
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/07/mickey-mouse-is-a-groomer-conservative-talking-point/?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social
The “groomer” talking point has been taken up by political spokespeople, Fox News hosts and conservative celebrities, who have used the term to describe anyone from educators who let it slip that they have a same-sex partner to the Mouse himself. (Disney is under fire in conservative circles for having opposed Florida’s bill.) The suggestion is that by introducing — or simply being willing to introduce — children to questions of sexual orientation or gender identity, educators risk making young people more vulnerable to sexual predation or abuse. Indiscriminately labeling teachers “pedophiles” will help keep kids safe!
Of course, if conservatives really wanted to keep children safe from sexual predation, there is much they could do besides smear Mickey Mouse for occasionally sporting a pair of rainbow ears.
They might have spent more time closing the loopholes in Tennessee’s Republican-proposed “common-law marriage” bill that would have legalized child marriage (an amendment to address this oversight was added to the bill only this week, after progressive outcry). They might turn a more watchful eye toward members of their own party — Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, for instance, is actually under investigation to determine whether he had sex with a minor and engaged in sex trafficking. (Gaetz has emphatically denied the allegations.) They could have vocally supported legislation like the Emergency Funding for Child Protection Act, which was meant to support programs to prevent child abuse and neglect during the covid-19 pandemic. (That bill was eventually folded into the American Rescue Plan, which didn’t receive a single Republican vote.).....
This new vocabulary game might end up backfiring. The conservative movement’s insistence on brandishing hyperbolic language will make their complaints sound less credible, not more. And if everything is “grooming,” soon nothing will be — which means parents may find it harder to call out real instances of abuse and predation when they do occur.
In that scenario, Mickey won’t be the one who has lost.
Of course, if conservatives really wanted to keep children safe from sexual predation, there is much they could do besides smear Mickey Mouse for occasionally sporting a pair of rainbow ears.
They might have spent more time closing the loopholes in Tennessee’s Republican-proposed “common-law marriage” bill that would have legalized child marriage (an amendment to address this oversight was added to the bill only this week, after progressive outcry). They might turn a more watchful eye toward members of their own party — Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, for instance, is actually under investigation to determine whether he had sex with a minor and engaged in sex trafficking. (Gaetz has emphatically denied the allegations.) They could have vocally supported legislation like the Emergency Funding for Child Protection Act, which was meant to support programs to prevent child abuse and neglect during the covid-19 pandemic. (That bill was eventually folded into the American Rescue Plan, which didn’t receive a single Republican vote.).....
This new vocabulary game might end up backfiring. The conservative movement’s insistence on brandishing hyperbolic language will make their complaints sound less credible, not more. And if everything is “grooming,” soon nothing will be — which means parents may find it harder to call out real instances of abuse and predation when they do occur.
In that scenario, Mickey won’t be the one who has lost.
