We had a family discussion last night and decided to cancel our subscription to Disney+ and Hulu. It was an easy choice, because it was such a clear-cut case. Jimmy Kimmel’s supposedly awful comments were civil and mild; there is no plausible theory of the First Amendment on which they are not core protected speech. The governmental coercion was blatant and thuggish; Brendan Carr’s threats against ABC were themselves a First Amendment violation. And Disney’s capitulation was so staightforwardly cowardly and greedy that there is nothing much more to be said.
The people running America’s institutions, from Bob Iger and Brad Karp and Claire Shipman on down, act and talk like they don’t have a choice. The government has such power, and we have so much to lose, they say. If we fought, we might win a few rounds, but the revenge would be fearsome. Some of our customers, or clients, or donors agree with the demands, and who are we to tell them no? Thousands of people work here, and many more depend on us. And is the ask really so onerous? What’s one talk-show host compared to an $8 billion merger? Our hands were tied.
But they had a choice. They always had a choice. They had a choice, and they chose tyranny.
And we have a choice too. We always have a choice. We have a choice, and we chose to walk away from Disney.