Have you actually ever been to one of these parades? They're not as wild and crazy as you would like to believe. I went to the one on June 29th and many of the floats were from churches and other "wholesome" organizations. There were a lot of kids there too and P-FLAG had a big turn out. It's not even 1/1000th the debauchery of Mardi Gras (which I assume you have no problem with). And it's not about celebrating getting laid. It's about being proud of who you are and loving who you want to love. That is something worth celebrating. Maybe you should check one out before judging it so vehemently.
Ah yes....any time something is spoken out against gays, here comes outlaw to the rescue!! Why am I not surprised?? Look I don't give a rat's ass what you do or anyone else does on their personal time. It is none of my damn business. But when a medium like television has characters that are openly "gay" then that is a problem to me. I don't want to know about that stuff and I as sure as hell don't WANT a 2 to 4 year old to even come close to finding out that stuff. Yea, you can say just don't watch which I follow. But how many people out there will watch just because it has generated controversy?? Oh I would say enough to keep the show going. if it is not even an issue then I say Ellen may have lasted a little longer, but then maybe, maybe no.
Yeah I hear Sesame Street will be releasing brand name condoms too. From Big Bird to Oscar the Grouch. If it picks up, they're gonna bring out Snuffulufagus. I think this is too premature for a childrens show. I'd rather have a doctor muppet teaching about hygene and abusing antibiotics. The fact that 90% of all the diseases you get come from your dirty grubby hands makes a whole lot of difference. Keeping your body clean and a temple can eventually lead to the "tougher issues" such as cancer or even STDs. I stongly doubt an HIV positive character will make a large impact for the future. Anyone who has read some bit of the D.A.R.E program's successes know that. It seems that the miracles of technology has allowed the public to breathe safely again. When Magic contracted HIV, everyone thought he was officially dead. 10 years later he's still a strong vibrant businessman. While he has been a champion to awareness, there's also the unspoken thought that he has lived on because of the increasing effectiveness of cocktail drugs. The easily influenced can take that cue as "mess up now and let medicine save you later"... It's such a common thought. They might as well bring in a lung cancer sock with rotted polyester as lungs to teach the second largest killer in the US behind heart disease. This HIV puppet reeks of political heavyhandedness on both ends.
Shhhhhh....don't tell anyone, Hangout Boy! *sigh* with this thread, I have turned into giddyup junior
I don't believe that is what Gay Pride parades are about. I believe they are a celebration of pride in a lifestyle that, for so long, has been shunned by society. I see the parades as an outward manifestation of continuing inroads being made within society. I'm sure the parades have some degree of outlandishness to them....most parades do. I think the overriding point is that the participants and spectators may very well be our friends, neighbors, and co-workers. As such, we should strive to reach a point when gay pride parades are not given a second thought because that would probably indicate a more definitive acceptance of gay people.
I have no life. Thinking about having Clutch change my title to "Hangout Boy Junior" (NOTE - Clutch, I'm just kidding - please leave my title the way it is).
Yup, I'm a gay superhero. Go ahead and put me on your ignore list then. How many "gay" characters are on network tv (not hbo or sho)? 1. Will (Will & Grace) 2. Jack (Will & Grace) 3. Jack (Dawson's Creek) 4. Willow (Buffy) 5. Kerry (ER) Is it really that difficult to avoid 4 shows? Also note that none of the actors portraying these characters are "openly" gay.
Look I don't really have time to argue with you, outlaw. I made my first part of my post because I have noticed that you always do that - jump in like the knight riding in on the white horse. I guess it's good that we have someone here that feels that strongly for that side. But I do hope you understand that there are people here (probably more than half of the members here) that don't see things like you do. But it's America and you are entitled to your opinion...doesn't mean I have to like it and you don't have to like mine. You missed my point completely about avoiding those shows. Read my previous post again, please. Just the fact that there are shows that have gay characters make those shows ones that get plenty of press by the media and are deemed curious by people. I mean I can see the curiosity of seeing Heather Locklear french kiss Debra Messing (or whoever that character is). But hell that is what they want to do...get people to watch to increase their ratings. It's all about the ratings, man At any rate this thread has somewhat degenerated for me. I knew I was taking a big risk by what I said, but I stand behind everything that I have said in this thread (except for the playful jabs at RM95). Nothing will change my opinion on this topic, so it is better for me to stop right now before I wind up getting mad and saying things that will come back to haunt me.
Manny, You miss the point. SS is about acceptance. It has Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Deaf, Blind, Wheelchair-bound, etc. They will not go into details on HIV, only state that the character has it and if 'so-and-so has a cut, this is what you do'. If my child asks about how the character got HIV, I won't go into percentages over whether it was likely contracted maternally or through sodomy, I will simply state that 'it probably was born with it, so don't worry about getting it, but know that other people who have it are like you and me, they're just sick sometimes and need special care'. I imagine that you've handled more challenging questions than that. Your leukemia anaolgy is weak. Children with leukemia are not generally subject to misunderstanding and prejudice. Don't tell me that 4-year olds don't sense when people shy away from them. These unfortunate HIV children may not live long; the least that we can do is be 'inconvenienced' by Sesame Street to increase their acceptance by those more fortunate. 'In New York City in 1998, AIDS was the leading cause of death in Hispanic children 1 to 4 years of age and was the second leading cause of death for African-American children of the same ages.' http://www.pedhivaids.org/fact/
Manny, C'mon, man! No one tells you what music to like. No one says, "Damn, Manny, if guys like you didn't like techno music, we wouldn't have to hear all that crap all the time at clubs!" Who cares about any of it? If you don't like it, ignore it.
If anyone ever took that advice to heart, that would be the end of the BBS... ...well actually, more than just the BBS....
Would you respond if you felt others were being derisive to to your ethnicity, religion, or any other way you characterize yourself?
Ummm... I think I'll delay on this whole 'kids' thing. (hmmm... or hide them from all other humans. Just the kitties, the springer, a bunch of books, Hayley Mills movies and their parents) Sorry my fellow backslappers (that's actually a funny image) but I think I'll take a zero on a 2-4 year old confronted with the horrors of life, of any type, thank you... the biggest concern a child should confront is to take heed that the doggie gets scolded when it poops on the floor.
Jeff: Sorry to be getting like I was doing in this thread. But you know that I usually stay out of these types of threads. However, I really have strong feelings about it, but I can see where people disagree with me. That's the great thing about this BBS and unfortunately, that is also the worst thing about this BBS sometimes. BTW - Achebe feels like I do (on the kids not being exposed to this "muppet"), so I feel vindicated.
Don't be sorry. You did no wrong Manny... It is your view. I constantly disagree with Jeff, but I still would like to have lunch with him.
