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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (49360)	6/7/2002 7:08:10 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

Some may feel a need to protect their children from this. Conservatives to Nickelodeon: Not in Front of the Children! By Lisa de Moraes Friday, June 7, 2002; Page C07 The Traditional Values Coalition, a Washington-based lobbying group, is outraged over a "Nick News" special about intolerance toward kids with same-sex parents. The show is scheduled to run on cable channel Nickelodeon on June 18. But no one's as affronted as the Rev. Jerry Falwell, and he's on the show. He agreed to appear on the program even while blasting it, saying its purpose is to "invade the minds and hearts of children who enjoy Nickelodeon" and teach them that gay is okay. The special, "My Family Is Different," produced by Linda Ellerbee's Lucky Duck Productions, features a segment in which Ellerbee talks to a panel of young teenagers, some of whose parents are same-sex partners; others whose parents are heterosexuals openly opposed to homosexuality; and still others who are the children of heterosexual parents who are not outspoken on the subject. (All appeared with the consent of their parents, who chaperoned them.) Also appearing with the kids is Rosie O'Donnell -- the gay parent of three adopted children -- as well as a gay New York City firefighter with kids of his own and a gay Minnesota school principal. No member of the anti-gay persuasion appears with the kids, according to a network spokesman. Falwell appears in a separate, taped segment, as does a representative of a conservative Christian group. The network rep says that's because they agreed to participate in the program at such a late date. Falwell says Ellerbee only asked him to participate at the end of last week. But the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) has been criticizing the show since at least May 8, when it sent out a news release saying the program "proves that this network has been co-opted by homosexual activists who are targeting children. Sodomy is not a family value. Nickelodeon has now lost the trust of parents." TVC has urged people to sign a petition, posted on its Web site, demanding that Nickelodeon cancel the program. So far, the group claims, more than 100,000 have signed. Nickelodeon says the number of e-mails it has received is a fraction of that but acknowledges it had to set up a separate e-mail address to handle them. Ellerbee says that the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and other groups were invited to have input on the show and to help locate children whose parents are gay, just as TVC was invited early on to be part of the show and help locate children whose parents are openly opposed to same-sex relationships. TVC declined, Ellerbee said, and then having found out about the program began organizing its campaign against it. TVC, in its petition, also attacks the choice of Ellerbee to produce the special, calling her a "longtime supporter of homosexual causes" and noting that in June 2000 "Ellerbee performed in the vulgar obscenity-filled play 'The Vagina Monologues.' " Ellerbee says the program "is about families, diversity, respect and tolerance. "If we're saying gay people deserve tolerance and respect, we're also saying that people are entitled to their own opinions. This is not a show about how one knows he or she is gay; it's not about sex and it does not tell you what to think." In an interview with The TV Column, she said: "There is no controversy here. My only hope is that people watch the show before making up their minds." Falwell, who has not yet seen the show, thinks it's propaganda. "I'm not naive. Having Rosie on tells me that the idea is to sell to the children something they shouldn't be selling," Falwell told The TV Column. "I personally think that since Rosie O'Donnell is participating that . . . the subtle purpose of the program is to invade the minds and hearts of children who enjoy Nickelodeon and teach them that what their parents believe and their faith dictates regarding the wrongness of the lifestyle is not correct," he said. "It is unthinkable that Nick would open its airwaves for the promotion of a lifestyle that most people of faith do not approve of and certainly to take advantage of the minds of little children who trust Nickelodeon." Nonetheless, Falwell agreed to appear in the special. He said he was aware of O'Donnell's participation at the time and had read about objections to the program. Falwell says he decided to appear on the show because he "felt there needed to be a kind and gracious voice from the other side. "I'll go just about anywhere to deliver my message," he said. While not appearing with the panel of teenagers, he addressed his taped remarks to them. His message? "I said to the children, 'If this program is designed to help you accept the gay lifestyle as normal, or to accept gay marriages as a viable and correct union, then that is wrong and I hope you will understand that while God loves us all alike, God does not ordain same-sex marriages,' " Falwell said. But he also told them that "violence and hostility toward children who may be a member of a same-sex family is wrong. "Little children are not responsible where they live and that they have two fathers or two mothers," he said, and these children "should be treated with respect and love like any other child." <snip>

To: Lane3 who wrote (49360)	6/7/2002 12:35:49 PM
From: one_less	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

"You've mentioned this quote several times. I'm not sure what about it so bothers you." Yes. I have mentioned it several times. I mentioned it this time because tw had picked up on the "fed storm trouper" tone; which was never my thrust. My issue is with the health and safety of children. "There are other ways to protect kids. You can keep them in a bubble, after all." There is a whole rich universe of things that we can to that involve measures designed to contribute to child health and safety. The "bubble" comment is about your attitude and not about any of my postings on this topic. " I don't see that there's anything about the internet as a venue that changes that paradigm any more than the invention of the light bulb or the automobile or the television changed that paradigm. It changes only the particulars." That is true and I would agree with your comment that education is one of the "best ways" not the "only way." It seems that you, like the director, feel we need to pick one thing and call it resolved. The Internet is becoming almost a parralel society to 3D. It is my contention that it needs to have the same societal checks and balances that the 3D world does. That is what I have been saying in many ways...Obviously you read the post you are responding to; but feel free to continue returning to the "fed storm trouper" rant. It seems to be moving the discussion nowhere, but you must have a reason for that.