Oh, good grief!
Jan. 19th, 2005 10:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ambitious_wenchThe New York Times > Washington > Conservatives Pick Soft Target: A Cartoon Sponge:
January 20, 2005
Conservatives Pick Soft Target: A Cartoon Sponge
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
ASHINGTON, 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. He is popular among children and grownups as well who watch him cavorting under the sea on Nickelodeon. In addition, 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 Nickelodeon and other networks, and nothing in it or its accompanying materials refers to sexual identity. The "tolerance pledge," which was borrowed from the Southern Poverty Law Center, is not mentioned on the video and is available only on the group's Web site.
"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."
On Wednesday however, Paul Batura, assistant to Mr. Dobson at Focus on the Family, said the group stood by its charges.
"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."
January 20, 2005
Conservatives Pick Soft Target: A Cartoon Sponge
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
ASHINGTON, 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. He is popular among children and grownups as well who watch him cavorting under the sea on Nickelodeon. In addition, 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 Nickelodeon and other networks, and nothing in it or its accompanying materials refers to sexual identity. The "tolerance pledge," which was borrowed from the Southern Poverty Law Center, is not mentioned on the video and is available only on the group's Web site.
"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."
On Wednesday however, Paul Batura, assistant to Mr. Dobson at Focus on the Family, said the group stood by its charges.
"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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Date: 2005-01-20 04:42 pm (UTC)I thought the jury was still out on whether or not there was such a thing as brainwash. The only people I know who strongly claim it is true are the ones who offer themselves as proof, namely a mutual friend of hours who has been in the USMC.
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Date: 2005-01-20 07:11 pm (UTC)http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/01/20/Arts/spongebobvideo050120.html
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Date: 2005-01-21 12:36 pm (UTC)Either way they're a bunch of idiots.