No. It is the sexual aspect to this disease whether it be hetero or homosexual sex. Are there people who contract HIV from their mother at birth or blood transfusions? Yes. Are those cases the majority? Absolutely not! Like it or not, the vast majority of HIV transmissions are via sexual contact or drug needles. Period. End of quote. Don't you worry yourself about my kids. Anybody who wouldn't have a hard time explaining sexual themes to their young children has a bit of a problem.
yeah..i don't exactly relish the opportunity to tell my 2 1/2 year old about the birds and the bees! not looking forward to that!!!
Manny, Since you are above average intelligence, maybe you know that children are born with HIV everyday. Or that others acquire it through blood transfusions. You have alternatives to discussing sex and sharing needles. Just like when a child asks how they were born, you don't need to discuss oral sex and a cl*t*r*s. They are irrelevant for the 4 year-old and easily avoided. The main point is teaching acceptance of others different than 'us' (whomever 'us' may be). BTW, if your child ends up in school with a child with AIDS, don't you think that muppet character will probably help you handle with the inevitable questions then?
from Ellen DeGeneres' book "My Point...and I Do Have One" I think my best quality as a mother would be the ability to communicate complex ideas simply. I think all parents dread the old "How are babies made" question. I know my parents had a problem explaining it to me: "Mommy, Daddy - how are babies made?" "Well, Ellen honey, there's an egg." "Like a chicken egg?" "No, smaller." "Like a robin's egg?" "No, much smaller - it's very small. And Daddy gives Mommy...Well, there's a Papa Bear and a Mama Bear and the Mama Bear has the baby in her tummy--" "So I grew in a bear's stomach?" "No, but if you were a bear, you would've." "But I'm not a bear?" "No, you're a little girl." "So where'd I grow?" "In Mommy's tummy." "How did I get there?" "Daddy gave her special sauce" "Like McDonald's?" "Who knows? Maybe." "How did he give it to her? In a hamburger?" "Okay. Yes." "I like hamburgers. Good night." "Good night, sleep tight."
I think that if a kid needs to know how someone got HIV you could tell them there are a lot of ways to get it and that it's often transferred through blood. That's if they ask. I don't say the information should be forced on them. And, by the way, if they don't hear it from Sesame Street or in school or in some other controlled environment, they will hear about it elsewhere. And it won't be treated with the same sensitivity. As for the "Just Say No" approach to policing children's inappropriate sexual behavior, well, we saw how well that worked with drugs. And cigarettes and alcohol and daddy's dirty magazines. My reaction had everything in the world to do with people treating this disease as something shameful because of how most people contract it. I mean, people are dying. Isn't that punishment enough? Does anyone really need to make them feel ashamed into the bargain? People with HIV are not just dying, they are scorned. And that makes me angry. Refman: I reacted to the thing about your kids because you singled out gays, not because you were concerned about talking to your kids about sex. I know that's a difficult thing to do. The bottom line is that the people who oppose this puppet don't do it because they might have to talk to their kids about death. I maintain they wouldn't have this problem with a puppet with cancer or another disease. They protest because they are uncomfortable with homosexuality. That's all I got. Keep on keepin on, y'all.
Obviously it would be better if everyone didn't share needles or have unprotected sex etc. But once they have HIV crying about the ways it's spread is too late. I think only compassion should be shown at that point.
It's a nice thought, FranchiseBlade, but I think Refman is trying to tell us that people with AIDS are a lot like gang members and mass murderers. Never mind the fact that they're dying, they're sick and wrong. No compassion for them. Keep them off Sesame Street so Refman's kids will never be exposed to anyone with HIV. He's got enough trouble with Gay Pride parades. Sorry, Refman. I'm really trying here, but one good post deserves another.
No offense taken Batman, but I really think you're missing the point here. The point was that Cohen posted a "this should be there because what if." I gave another what if. Cohen was saying that this would help kids with the reality of death. Having a mass murdering muppet would help show kids the reality of inner city gang life. Both ideas are circular in their logic. THAT is the point. There are certain topics that TV shouldn't teach kids. That is every parent's right and responsibility to teach in accordance with the values they hold dear. You may do so in a much different way than some people. These are touchy subjects and need to be dealt with discreetly, not via the airwaves in a one size fits all manner. You need to understand that my quarrel is not with teaching compassion, but with the forum for teaching kids about these issues. I'm sure it is very easy to paint me as lacking compassion. Those on this BBS that actually KNOW me know that I am in fact quite compassionate. But my kids should be taught about these things by ME dammit, not some TV corporation thank you. And yes, I do have a problem with gay pride parades. That does not make me lacking in compassion. I just don't want to have to not take my kids into certain neighborhoods because there's a moving drag queen show going down the street. Look, I didn't go and have a parade when I first got laid. Neither should anybody else.
Anybody who has paid attention to this story any further than the headline knows and accepts the fact that the producers of Sesame Street plan to start this character in South Africa and eventually introduce the character in the US. As for my thoughts on this is Africa, I made it quite clear in another thread that I think it is ok in Africa due to the different HIV progression there.
Refman, And BTW, where exactly did I say that this would help kids with the reality of death? I have stated that this would help with acceptance of different people, since some seem determined to ostracize people who are HIV positive. Teaching acceptance of others is a good thing. I will try to teach my kids to accept those who fear other people's sexual orientation. If you are concerned about what TV teaches kids, why haven't you rallied against the de-humanizing and de-sensitizing way so many people are killed in TV shows everyday? That seems more important to our kids than worrying about a peppy little puppet. Many here are jumping to conclusions about how the SS character will be presented. I find it extremely non-threatening: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_2123000/2123697.stm http://www.cbc.ca/artsCanada/stories/sesame120702 BTW, re. your attempt at analogy was specious.
Cohen: I looked and looked for a link that told what the percentage of people who have the HIV Virus got it from - whether through sex (unprotected or anal), sharing needles, blood transfusions, or other. Alas, I couldn't find anything and I really didn't want to waste any more time looking for it. However, I would bet that the percentage of those who got the HIV virus from blood transfusions runs a distant third to those who got it from sex and sharing needles. Now, it is unfortunate that you can get the HIV virus from a blood transfusion. I felt that Arthur Ashe's death was a great tragedy. But I really think that is a cop-out that is used to avoid the fact that sex and sharing needles are more of the main causes. BTW - this covers those who are born because their parents got the HIV virus either by unprotected sex (or maybe engage in anal sex) or sharing needles before they had their child. The whole reason for this rambling is that I'm rather curious to what your "alternatives" are in discussing with your child when they ask how did "Muffy" or "Little Tiny Tim" got the HIV virus. Sure, you could say it was a blood transfusion that one of their parents was unfortunate to get, but you have to cover the other possibilites now, don't you? So, how do you do that? How do you explain to a 2 to 4 year old about drugs and sex including sodomy?? I think you explain it when your child is older like maybe at least 10 years old . Plus I'm very skeptical of how Sesame Street would explain to its viewers how "fluffy the muppet" got the HIV virus. I think they would gloss over the unprotected/anal sex, sharing needles possibility, but that is just my opinion. I'll have to say that we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. As for cancer (this is also addressed to Batman), let me ask this question: Leukemia (which is a form of cancer) has been around it seems like forever and many kids get stricken with it. I don't ever recall hearing leukemia being discussed on SS. To me it would be more natural for SS to address leukemia than the HIV virus for at least this country. So, why don't they do that then?? I'll tell you why and I know I will get some heat for saying this: gays and lesbians have been pushing so hard for "equal rights" (didn't know that a lifestyle enabled you to have "equal rights" but that's just me) that it has seeped into our national consciousness. Television has become the outlet for gays and lesbians to get their voices heard, e.g. the Ellen show. I can almost guarantee that if it wasn't for them pushing for these "equal rights" that this whole issue of a HIV muppet wouldn't even be discussed. It would be like a muppet with leukemia - it wouldn't exist . And for the record, it would bother me (at first) for SS to show a "character" that is terminally ill or could die from their disease like leukemia but I would have to see how the show handled this character first before I would deem it fit for my child (if I ever have any...lol) to watch. Okay, flame on...
Refman, Refman, Refman. This whole "it can happen to anybody thing" is an attempt by the left to legitimize risky lifestyles? Did you really say that? AIDS can be contracted in different ways, Refman. Some kids are born with it. Others, as in the cases of many South African children, are raped. Some people get it from unfaithful spouses. Others get it from blood transfusions. YOU KNOW ALL OF THIS. Don't give us this crap. Because of your BS there are children and good people dying scornful deaths. You suck.
How Allen Iverson would respond to this issue at a press conference: It's a puppet man... All we're talkin' 'bout is a puppet. This ain't a human, it's a puppet... A puppet, man...a puppet... a PUPPET.... 'C'mon man.....we all sittin' here talkin 'bout a puppet? It ain't a real person....it's a puppet! We talkin' 'bout a puppet....what's wrong wit dat?... A puppet.... BTW, I can't stop saying the word 'puppet' now.....
Thankfully, you have plenty of options... For the TV, you have knobs or a remote control to change the channel, a VCR, a DVD player and even an off switch. For the gay pride parade, you can turn your car around and go somewhere else. You could always move to another city. Maybe you could just stay home. Freedom of choice. It's a beautiful thing.
Yeah you can't turn on the TV without seeing us gay people. We gotta push our gay agenda you know even if it means using HIV as an excuse to do so.
