Elmo Muppeteer Kevin Clash resigns from Sesame Street

[CensoredAlso]

Sure. That whole Christian-Newsom murder trial that just recently made national news? That happened here in my own backyard YEARS ago, and each of those murderers have tried justifying their actions... I don't think you can justify torturing, raping, and killing two individuals for the sake of kicks.

Fair enough.

I believe if someone commits something unspeakable, they should not be forgiven like nothing happened.

I think the key phrase here is "like nothing happened." Forgiveness to me does not mean forgetting or not holding a person responsible. It just means not holding anger in your heart.

 

[MelissaY1]

I think you are absolutely right, Melissa. And people really need to be able to separate characters from performers. It's the characters we truly fall in love with. It's the characters we really know. We like to think we know their performers too but in reality they are strangers.

I know I'm usually the anti-Elmo fan, but in this case I find myself in the odd position of defending him as he seems to be getting lost here.

My favorite headline in all of this has actually been "Hasbro Sticks Up for Elmo."
http://www.eonline.com/news/365197/kevin-clash-sex-allegations-hasbro-sticks-up-for-elmo

See there, they're defending the character. Now yes, this is a big, impersonal toy company hoping their products/profits won't go away, lol. But they are absolutely right. A character is bigger than any performer, writer or TV network. Beloved characters become part of our cultural mythology. They are the potential we all wish we could live up to as imperfect human beings. And that character shouldn't suffer just because one actor might have failed to live up to that potential.

Well said, Heralde. I enjoy Kevin's work and his characters, and you can't deny his talent. ****, we still don't even know if all this is true or not, but I agree, people have to learn how to separate the character from the performer. I can't stand reading how "Elmo" did this, etc. in the media lately. Elmo didn't do anything. Elmo's not real lol

It's like my husband and I discuss Michael Jackson all the time and what happened with his whole scandal, etc. We both agree we can still enjoy his music and just not like the man for what he did. There are tons of actors, musicians, etc. who I really don't like them as PEOPLE from what I've seen firsthand or heard, but I can still enjoy their movies, etc.

 

[MelissaY1]

Fair enough.



I think the key phrase here is "like nothing happened." Forgiveness to me does not mean forgetting or not holding a person responsible. It just means not holding anger in your heart.

I still don't understand how you couldn't.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I still don't understand how you couldn't.

Well no one said it was easy. And it's not something you only do once and it's over. It's a decision you make everyday. But again it does not mean not holding someone responsible.

 

[MelissaY1]

Well no one said it was easy. And it's not something you only do once and it's over. It's a decision you make everyday. But again it does not mean not holding someone responsible.

I guess.....

 

[Hubert]

I agree with heralde there, it's not so much not holding someone responsible...they still need to pay the consequences. However, that doesn't mean that you need to hold that thing against them forever. That's an example of forgiveness...still being sad and dissapointed with them, but at the same time, also not holding that against them for life and labeling them forever as a bad person.

Thinking about this, I continue to be brought back to a story I heard earlier this year about a drunk driver who collided with young woman's car, ending up killing her. The man was arrested, but the girl's mother mustered up enough courage to visit that man in jail, and tell him, 'I forgive you for killing my daughter'. The man was so moved by this outreach of kindness that that act made him make a commitment to turn his life around. The man is now out of jail, and the man and mother are very good friends, and actually go around sharing their story to touch people's lives. That is forgiveness in a nutshell. The mother decided to not hold the man accountable in her heart for the action. Sure, we can assume that she never forgot it, nor tried to say that he wasn't responsible for his action, but the important thing was that personally, she chose to tell the man "look, I know you goofed up, and I'm still dissapointed in your actions, but I still believe you're a good person and I'm not going to let that one action be the cover to my perception of you."

 

[MelissaY1]

I agree with heralde there, it's not so much not holding someone responsible...they still need to pay the consequences. However, that doesn't mean that you need to hold that thing against them forever. That's an example of forgiveness...still being sad and dissapointed with them, but at the same time, also not holding that against them for life and labeling them forever as a bad person.

Thinking about this, I continue to be brought back to a story I heard earlier this year about a drunk driver who collided with young woman's car, ending up killing her. The man was arrested, but the girl's mother mustered up enough courage to visit that man in jail, and tell him, 'I forgive you for killing my daughter'. The man was so moved by this outreach of kindness that that act made him make a commitment to turn his life around. The man is now out of jail, and the man and mother are very good friends, and actually go around sharing their story to touch people's lives. That is forgiveness in a nutshell. The mother decided to not hold the man accountable in her heart for the action. Sure, we can assume that she never forgot it, nor tried to say that he wasn't responsible for his action, but the important thing was that personally, she chose to tell the man "look, I know you goofed up, and I'm still dissapointed in your actions, but I still believe you're a good person and I'm not going to let that one action be the cover to my perception of you."

Drunk driving is a mistake, yes. But willfully abusing a child, killing a person, etc. I'm sorry does not warrant forgiveness. If I was a parent, there would be no chance I would "forgive" or reach out to the person who killed or harmed my child in any way. I'd do everything to make sure that person stayed locked up, or wish them a slow, painful death. I don't think that's being unforgiving, I think that's being realistic. I know people handle things differently and everyone's entitled to deal with grief, etc. in their own way, but sorry if you're doing something to hurt one of my loved ones, I'm not forgiving you.

 

[inturnaround]

I don't think you can forgive someone until and unless they acknowledge they did something wrong.

Even then, forgiveness is something freely given and not something anyone can expect from everyone. I'm a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles whose main quarterback is Michael Vick. Some people have forgiven him, some people haven't. That's the way the world works.

 

[CensoredAlso]

That's an example of forgiveness...still being sad and dissapointed with them, but at the same time, also not holding that against them for life and labeling them forever as a bad person.

Well that's not exactly what I said. A person may remain a bad (or more accurately disturbed) person for the rest of their lives and perhaps you can't have them around you anymore. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting.

I don't think you can forgive someone until and unless they acknowledge they did something wrong.

I'd do everything to make sure that person stayed locked up, or wish them a slow, painful death. I don't think that's being unforgiving, I think that's being realistic.

Well now we're getting into morality and philosophical debates, lol. All I can say is, it's easy to forgive someone when they're sorry. For me, forgiveness is for people who don't deserve it. Who needs it more than them?

 

[Hubert]

I definitely agree that you can't expect forgiveness from anyone. It's hard to forgive, really hard. I like how you say "truly given" because it really is a gift that only some are able to offer. But I do believe that it is worth the while.