I'm using the term propaganda to refer to a specific type of message that isn't always appealing to everyone.
No advertising message, no matter what it is for, is appealing to everyone.
I didn't come to Central Florida with expectations of not viewing any advertising, but I DID pay thousands of dollars to be immersed in a Disney-friendly environment, one that I should trust would be friendly to all patrons.
No advertising of any kind is "friendly to all patrons". Not even Disney's. Perhaps even especially Disney's.
What everyone chooses to do on Sunday is their own business, but I'm not happy about having it inserted into my vacation. I don't personally see a vacation as a time for theological discussion, but for those with curious children, it's going to be, whether they like it or not.
On the other hand, kids usually accept what they are told, so all one would have to say to them is "just some people expressing their religious preference by skywriting".
It's shortsighted and rude to assume everyone will enjoy something that could be controversial. That's why businesses usually choose to screen their advertising.
Hey, I don't agree with lots of different advertising. That doesn't mean I let it ruin my vacation. I just ignore it like I do when I am at home.
Illegal in the terms of Disney, or more specifically, in the terms of following the rules. Illegal in the sense that one usually needs to pay for advertising on another's property. Flying over and advertising "above" someone's property is shady, cheap, and deliberately circumventing that organization's established advertising model. If I'm declined as a vendor at a festival, renting a plane and flying over it to advertise is lame. It's going around the system.
The word "Illegal" has a very specific definition:
adjective
1.
forbidden by law or statute.
2.
contrary to or forbidden by official rules, regulations, etc.:
The referee ruled that it was an illegal forward pass.
It is in no way "illegal" for the skywriters to be doing this. You see it as lame, most folks just blow it off. Pilots pull banners up and down the beach advertising all manner of things every day. Do you feel these banners are likewise "shady and cheap"?
Also, who is to say these messages are aimed solely at Disney patrons? These skywritten messages are visible for miles in every direction. Many tens or hundreds of thousands who have never been and may never go to Disney see them. Perhaps they are the audience?
Billboards are OUTSIDE the parks. In a designated advertising space.
You still have to pass those billboards to get to the parks, and in every day of your life otherwise.
I submit that your problem isn't really what is said by the skywriters (there are billboards all over the place that have religious messages on them), but the method of the advertisement. Most likely, you never see skywriting at home (we certainly don't here). Now you go to Disney and the only skywriting you see is offensive to you, so much so that it "ruins" your vacation. My suggestion is to just ignore it, as we do. You have learned to ignore billboards. To the point (like me) that you probably don't even notice them anymore. With enough exposure, the same will become true of skywriting.
--Lee
