Disgusting Muppet illustration - Make your thoughts known

[Jennifer Beth]

I periodically monitor websites dedicated to what might be called the "agenda" of the right wing, for reasons I won't get into here, and I found something that disgusted me as a Sesame Street fan (among other things) and I think many of you might be interested.

Regarding the announcement of an HIV positive muppet on the South African version of Sesame Street, an organization called Concerned Women for America has an awful illustration on their website of a hijacked Sesame Street street sign, proclaiming "Sexual Street," hanging over drawings of muppets the "artist" has named "Sado, Pervie, and Mr. Lady." The drawing is in very poor taste and I'd hope it violates some copyright laws, so that the Sesame Workshop people can take action. The website has the gall to ask if viewers like the cartoon and posts a link to send an email to the artist. I encourage all Muppet Central members to let these people know that education about HIV this is not humorous and the "art" is not at all funny. The site is www.cwfa.org

Jennifer

 

[Phillip]

Jennifer,

Thanks for the news. There are several people active on this forum who work for Sesame Workshop that will no doubt see this.

 

[grail]

and if they don't see it here, they'll see it somewhere...i just made sure of that...

it's good to have friends...

 

[ResidentLilly]

Besides...HIV is not necessarily about sex or sexual deviance...you know I realize we don't get into real issues on this board much, but I just want to say how much I detest right wing conservatism. It is such a blatantly misguided and utterly single minded of a group of people. America should be about tolerance and understanding, the embrace of new ideas and new ways of thinking. Heck...America was STARTED because a bunch of yahoos wanted to be able to think and make decisions based on their notion they had the freedom to choose their own way of life...sad that so many "Americans" forget that.

Anyway...it just stinks because you have an opportunity to teach kids about the black plague of the modern era and you'll have so called "enlightened" folk who try to block it at every turn because they are too uneducated to realize that to be HIV doesn't mean you're a sexual deviant or something.

OK...soapbox stepped off of...

 

[grail]

very well said

 

[Jennifer Beth]

Residentlilly, I agree with you completely! I look at right-wing sites just to know what the crazies are up to, and the amount of fear and bigotry out there never ceases to amaze me. It's sad that there are people out there content to revel in their ignorance rather than open themselves up to actually LEARNING something. What are they afraid of? The world is a lot less scary when you actually understand reasons and causes for things...I could go on for pages. These people can attack books, music, movies, whatever...but to attack Sesame Street and the muppets just irks me more than anything. I'm all for parody. I even thought the Bert is Evil photoshop sites were amusing, but this is not parody. It's just nasty.

 

[Jeffrey Gray]

I can't stand these people. Why are they complaining about AIDS being taught about in SOUTH AFRICA? Do they believe that Sesame Street has to always be harmless, sanitized, safe-for-all-kids education, in every single country? That's the kind of thinking that led to the ruination of the American SS...

I bet these right-wing conservatives didn't want SS teaching about death either. If they had their way, the SS cast probably would have told Big Bird, "Oh, Mr. Hooper moved away..."

 

[Ernie101]

very insulting and distasteful

 

[Stulz]

"wrong" wing 'toons

I just LOVE the way the ask that if you like the cartoon to click the link...
Notice there's no link if you DON"T like it...

Very interesting don't ya think?

Here's for more controversail issues being address on SS in the future!

(maybe even here in the US)

 

[UncleDeadly]

I like how the other day on some show on FoxNews Network (with an uber right wing host, cant remember his name), he was reading letters, as he always does (I only ever catch this portion of his show). As he read letters concerning what must have been his recent reporting of the HIV+ character, they showed a Muppets Tonight era picture of Muppets in the corner.

To show how 'fair' he was, he showed letters both supporting him and slamming him. Of course he slammed right back. "Kids that age (2-5) don't understand things like age! We shouldn't force the worlds problems on them. Let them be kids!"

While I agree with that concept (kids be kids), come on America! This is another countries current situation we are dealing with! And also, kids understand way more than we give them credit! LONG before a child can speak, he fully understands language, he just doesnt have the motor capacity to respond.

And as they arent saying how the character got the disease, and that she is 5!!! I highly doubt she conctracted it through unsafe relations of recreational drug use.