I've ridden all the versions of Splash Mountain, and it has a special place in my heart. Splash Mountain, the Disney World version at least, is actually one of my favorite rides. I have such great memories of riding it at night. The songs and atmosphere made me so happy, and I will be sad when I'm not able to ride it on a revisit. But I feel far more joy in seeing it go than anything else. I disagree with the statements saying the ride isn't explicitly racist. Though the ride itself may not be explicitly about Song of the South, many guests are well aware of where this story came from. Everything about it, the story and music and characters, is rooted in a story that is, at its core, about how slavery "really wasn't that bad." Even if that isn't apparent during the ride itself, the ride's existence as an adaptation of Song of the South gives it power. It allows the legacy of that horrible film to actively live on. I may well love the songs and characters, but that doesn't change what they are. By allowing the ride to carry on as it is, it's passively letting its source material be reinforced and validated. Ultimately, I care much more about a black child being able to see a representation of themselves in an E-Ticket thrill ride than I do about me trying to recapture some sense of nostalgia from my childhood. And I hope many of you feel the same.
As for those pointing out how problematic Disney is, and "what are we gonna change EVERY ride now," to that I say, YES! Why would you not want the racist and problematic things to leave this theme park meant for children? Get those racist stereotypes off of Jungle Cruise and Peter Pan and
please tear down Hall of Presidents (and burn that T***p animatronic). I can see the argument about how getting rid of stereotypical depictions of black people is "erasing history," but, honestly, to that I say, bulls**t. Just because we stop actively shoving those stereotypes into people's faces doesn't mean they will be forgotten. These things live on in history books, museums and, sadly, in everyday life. But the presence of those stereotypes reinforces and validates them. I think their removal at least shows a step toward something better and the slightest willingness to change. I certainly would rather a company like Disney actually give money to movements and charities that matter, but any step toward progress I do appreciate.
I imagine the Black Lives Matter movement has something to do with this. I am by no means racist and don't support any kind of discrimination whatsoever, but this movement is getting beyond a joke, as ALL lives matter, no matter your culture.
If you truly believed all lives mattered, then you would be just angry at the systematic robbery of black lives that has been happening in this country (and around the world) for centuries. I understand the need to have one's opinions expressed, but really consider what you're saying. By shutting down such a powerful and blunt statement as "Black Lives Matter" with "All Lives Matter," you are ignoring why the statement is being chanted in the first place. Not only through the murders happening every day by police and white supremacists, but through a system that enslaved black lives from its inception, then refused to give them any of the land they worked or the property they were promised, and now enslaves them either within a prison, making them work labor for pennies an hour in order to even receive basic necessities and often over some petty crime you or me (i.e., white lives) would get a slap on the wrist for, or within a workforce that discriminates and works against them at every turn. I don't want to go off on any more of a rant than I already have, so I'll stop here. If you want to learn more, study up on Sociology it's a fascinating and enlightening subject. But I won't stay silent, not on this forum.
