Evil Operative #87: Spongebob Squarepants
Jan. 20th, 2005 08:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
percivalI had to shake my head when I read this NY Times article. So this is a video agains t racial and cultural discrimination, which some pressure groups choose to re-interpret as pro-homosexual?
ETA: This is the article
Conservatives Pick Soft Target: A Cartoon Sponge
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: January 20, 2005
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 - On the heels of electoral victories barring same-sex marriage, some influential conservative Christian groups are turning their attention to a new target: the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants.
"Does anybody here know SpongeBob?" Dr. James C. Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, asked the guests Tuesday night at a black-tie dinner for members of Congress and political allies to celebrate the election results.
SpongeBob needed no introduction. In addition to his popularity among children, who watch his cartoon show, he has become a well-known camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds hands with his animated sidekick Patrick and likes to watch the imaginary television show "The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy."
Now, Dr. Dobson said, SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a "pro-homosexual video," in which he appeared alongside children's television colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. The makers of the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of elementary schools to promote a "tolerance pledge" that includes tolerance for differences of "sexual identity."
The video's creator, Nile Rodgers, who wrote the disco hit "We Are Family," said Mr. Dobson's objection stemmed from a misunderstanding. Mr. Rodgers said he founded the We Are Family Foundation after the Sept. 11 attacks to create a music video to teach children about multiculturalism. The video has appeared on television networks, and nothing in it or its accompanying materials refers to sexual identity. The pledge, borrowed from the Southern Poverty Law Center, is not mentioned on the video and is available only on the group's Web site.
Mr. Rodgers suggested that Dr. Dobson and the American Family Association, the conservative Christian group that first sounded the alarm, might have been confused because of an unrelated Web site belonging to another group called "We Are Family," which supports gay youth.
"The fact that some people may be upset with each other peoples' lifestyles, that is O.K.," Mr. Rodgers said. "We are just talking about respect."
Mark Barondess, the foundation's lawyer, said the critics "need medication."
On Wednesday however, Paul Batura, assistant to Mr. Dobson at Focus on the Family, said the group stood by its accusation.
"We see the video as an insidious means by which the organization is manipulating and potentially brainwashing kids," he said. "It is a classic bait and switch."
ETA: This is the article
Conservatives Pick Soft Target: A Cartoon Sponge
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: January 20, 2005
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 - On the heels of electoral victories barring same-sex marriage, some influential conservative Christian groups are turning their attention to a new target: the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants.
"Does anybody here know SpongeBob?" Dr. James C. Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, asked the guests Tuesday night at a black-tie dinner for members of Congress and political allies to celebrate the election results.
SpongeBob needed no introduction. In addition to his popularity among children, who watch his cartoon show, he has become a well-known camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds hands with his animated sidekick Patrick and likes to watch the imaginary television show "The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy."
Now, Dr. Dobson said, SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a "pro-homosexual video," in which he appeared alongside children's television colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. The makers of the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of elementary schools to promote a "tolerance pledge" that includes tolerance for differences of "sexual identity."
The video's creator, Nile Rodgers, who wrote the disco hit "We Are Family," said Mr. Dobson's objection stemmed from a misunderstanding. Mr. Rodgers said he founded the We Are Family Foundation after the Sept. 11 attacks to create a music video to teach children about multiculturalism. The video has appeared on television networks, and nothing in it or its accompanying materials refers to sexual identity. The pledge, borrowed from the Southern Poverty Law Center, is not mentioned on the video and is available only on the group's Web site.
Mr. Rodgers suggested that Dr. Dobson and the American Family Association, the conservative Christian group that first sounded the alarm, might have been confused because of an unrelated Web site belonging to another group called "We Are Family," which supports gay youth.
"The fact that some people may be upset with each other peoples' lifestyles, that is O.K.," Mr. Rodgers said. "We are just talking about respect."
Mark Barondess, the foundation's lawyer, said the critics "need medication."
On Wednesday however, Paul Batura, assistant to Mr. Dobson at Focus on the Family, said the group stood by its accusation.
"We see the video as an insidious means by which the organization is manipulating and potentially brainwashing kids," he said. "It is a classic bait and switch."
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no subject
Date: 2005-01-20 08:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-20 08:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-20 08:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-20 09:01 am (UTC)I would heartily concur. Incidentally, Nile Rodgers was one half of Chic, who laid down some of the funkiest guitar/bass grooves known to man. He rules :-)
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Date: 2005-01-20 09:24 am (UTC)Um. Paranoia much?
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Date: 2005-01-20 09:28 am (UTC)Eg. Big Ears and Noddy. Gay. Can't have that, can we - lets rewrite a few scenes from their books. Enid Blyton is no doubt rolling over in her grave.
Now I'm not anti-gay, or anything. But there was a time when friends held hands - Anne of Green Gables with her friend Diana. And I think it's utter rot that anyone being friendly and holding hands menas they must be gay. It's rather sad that poeple can no longer feel the freedom to do so wihtout being judged.
Does that mean every primary school child walking hand-in-hand, two by two, is gay? I think not!
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Date: 2005-01-20 01:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-20 02:00 pm (UTC)Dr. James C. Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family...
And that bit right there explains it. At least Bob is in good company - FotF has lambasted Harry Potter, the Teletubbies, and Disney in the past. They do have some apologists in the group who think the cartoons aren't teh EV0L, but on the whole they're batshit insane. But the part that scares me?
...asked the guests Tuesday night at a black-tie dinner for members of Congress and political allies to celebrate the election results.
I suppose you can't expect too much from a country where a third of the people still believe in Creationism (including the 10,000 year timeline).
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Date: 2005-01-20 02:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-20 06:34 pm (UTC)Remember the flap over Jerry Fallwell and the alleged "gay Teletubbie?" Dobson is being just as ridiculous.
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Date: 2005-01-20 10:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-20 11:26 pm (UTC)