I agree with Disney on this.  Their first concern is to keep the families happy and safe. You knwo some drunk redneck would have seen that turban and decided that dude was a terrorist and start shooting!  Seriously, people are that stupid.  Why dangle the carrot?

I say Cassie, perhaps the drunk shotgun toting redneck could be excluded from the festivities rather than the nice musician in the turban.

Just a thought.

Cassie - it's an interesting point you make.  I suppose that having someone who is a Sikh could promote negative, even violent behavior on the part of overtly racist nutjobs - and that's not something anyone wants.

However, I do question where that reasoning would lead us.  For example, should Disney not hire any black people because that could make an overtly racist white person violent?  That doesn't sound as comfortable, does it?  I don't think that's entirely what you're saying, but it could follow from that.

I think if it were me, I'd rather take the risk and hire the guy - because people are going to have to learn to keep their nastiness to themselves in public, for one. I'd rather make a public statement that idiots who'd respond negatively aren't welcome in the first place - than the statement that you have to be white and clean shaven and all to work for Disney.

But who am I kidding? It broke my heart yesterday to see a little girl with dark skin and a Disney backpack - featuring three princesses with long, straight hair, peach colored skin, not to mention impossible body shapes.   Disney can't feature any other races in their movies, I can't expect them to do so in real life, now can I?

i went to school with a disney character. (she played snow white, cinderella and ariel in florida for four years and japan for three years) they actually threatened to fire her for adding blonde chunks to her naturally red hair. Even though she wore wigs for all her characters. Disney has some pretty strict rules. (she immediately died her hair back to normal)

p.s. my eyes like the trumpeter ;)

right on sahra.

leahsmom, what about a little blond straight haired girl toting a back pack with at browned skinned curly haired doll?

but, i hear what you are saying.

Cassie, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you'd side with Disney on this. Your comments in general make you seem pretty racist.

It is absolutely unacceptable for Disney to discriminate against that musician solely based on his ethnicity. Are companies now supposed to avoid "redneck" disruptions by adopting the same prejudices as said rednecks?

Well, Disney has a right to have a dress code.  I am not sure, but I think they have a rule about facial hair, or at least they do at the Disneyland in Tokyo which is the one I am most familiar with.  Was the guy willing to shave off his beard, like the other men working there, and leave his turban at home?  If so, then Disney is at fault for discrimination.  If he refused to do that then they don't have to hire someone that won't follow their rules, however overly strict and maybe stupid other people think those rules are.  

I would have hired him.  But what if the trumpet player needed to wear a hat???  And if said hat is part of the uniform???  Would this guy be willing to change from his turban???

I am in no way saying Disney is right on this one, they aren't.  And in this day and age, they should at least be trying to practive CYA.

There are Disney princesses that aren't lilly white.  Pocahontas was a native American, Jasmine is from the Middle East or India, and while she isn't a princess, Lilo was less than fair skinned.  And then there was backlash for that too.  Their noses were too wide, Pocahontas wasn't looking like a 13-14 year old.....everyone has a beef.  

I've been to Disney and they have lots and lots of employees of color.  

And I've met my share of redneck types there too.  

They really screwed up this one.

Cassie is a black woman with two adopted daughter from China, one  racial birth daughter and one adopted son from Thailand.  My husband is caucasian so I guess that makes me racist.  

I think I have to agree with Maeby that the horn player is totally cute.  On that basis, Disney should have hired him..

But really, that's just crazy that they didn't hire him if he's qualified. And, Sherry, I don't know if you can ask someone to shave their beard and take off their turban if it's a requirement for their religion.  I personally think it's wrong to ask someone to do that anyway.

If a dumb redneck looking for 'terrorists' can't even tell the difference between a Sikh and a Muslim, should we therefore keep anyone out of Disney who isn't lily white in order to protect them? What a bizarre argument

"That Greek guy, hes a little dark... someone might think he's Al Quaeda! Better not hire him for his own safety."

Combermere, that's exactly what I am saying. It's just not right.

Cassie, I never said you were white, just that your posts make you seem racist. I still think so. Maybe "culturally insensitive" would be more accurate. The very fact that you agree with Disney on this for the reason you mentioned - isn't that discriminatory?

I have to go with Disney on this, companies should be allowed to dictate appearance to a certain extent. They did not refuse to hire the man on question because of his skin color, it was because of his attire and personal grooming. That is not racist or dicriminatory.

Cassie, kudos to you for having the courage to stand up to the lemmings.

It's discriminatory toward religion. Doesn't Disney follow the EEOC, "which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin"? His attire has to do with his religion.

But I guess you could say the same for any company that relies on image. A modeling agency or casting company is going to go based on looks.

Still, Disney is wrong on this one. You would think they would want to promote diversity? It's a small world, after all.

I do see Cassie's point, somewhat. I lived in Phoenix right around 9/11, and a local Sikh man was shot and killed shortly thereafter because someone thought he was a terrorist. Sad sad. But haven't we moved on since then?

If Disney's reasons were indeed because of his facial hair (which is possible, because I know they have a rule against facial hair--even in their animated characters, they try to avoid it). However, Cassie's rationale is culturally insensitive, if not racist, as are most of her posts on other topics.

www.nriinternet.com/.../index.htm

I think we should send this officer down to straighten this whole mess out.

This kind of behaviour doesn't surprise me coming from Disney. (just disappoints) Apparently they are real tyrants when it comes to theme park employees. It reminds me of another story written by an ex-employee of his experiences.

www.lamag.com/featuredarticle.aspx

My understanding about the 'Disney look' is that men aren't allowed to have any sort of facial hair or piercings, and women can only have one set of studs in their lobes, with a certain range of acceptable hair lengeth for both genders. If he was willing to shave his beard, I would find this whole thing very wrong. However, if a company requires an incredibly strict dress code and you refuse to comply, then you shouldn't be hired. It doesn't sound like this guy got a chance to comply, though.

As much as I'm not a fan of disney, they do have employment standards that they are free to set.  If a prospective employee doesn't meet all of them, or what they view to be the most important ones, they are free to hire someone else.

My friend works for a highend hotel chain in Canada and even though she never sees guests she has to abide by their appearance rules.  One ring per hand, one small earing per ear, only one colour in your hair (and it can't be wild, if you naturally have jet black hair, fine, otherwise no go) one watch or one bracelet, nylons with everything (even under pants).  Their company, their rules.

Not really related at all, but that trumpet player is very attractive. Disney needs to get it together. I'm sick of their crap.

@niallsmom - I hear what you're saying, too - and I admit, in that case, I probably wouldn't feel bad.  Why? Well, in part, because the little white girl has choices - most companies make white female dolls that she can play with - so that she knows that fairy tale heroines can look like her, too. Being white in America comes with privileges we don't realize at all, if we're white folks.  That little girl with her backpack made me feel bad because I knew that she didn't have the option of a herione who looked like her from Disney - only white heroines.  If she had a choice - and if it was an equal choice - it wouldn't have bothered me.

Have you ever seen the study, recently repeated, where black children of all ages and all financial backgrounds were given two dolls, a white and a black?  When asked to pick a "nice" doll, a "good" doll, and a "doll you want to play with" 90% of these children picked the white doll. Because that's what our culture tells them - white is good, white is nice - white is a princess, and black can't be.  When asked to pick the "doll that looks like you?" they all picked the black doll.  The doll that was the "bad" doll, the "ugly" doll, the "mean" doll.  

That video is a very useful tool to help see and experience the effect of white privilege in America - something that many of us white people really can't and don't see, and so we discredit its effects.  But when a six year old knows that the doll that looks like her is the bad doll, I think that's pretty undeniable.  

(You can check it out here: www.youtube.com/watch)

Ahh.. Strollerderby's back to Disney bashing... I've missed it.