I really dislike Sponge-Bob Squarepants. I think the animation is crude. I think the writing is awful. And I think it glorifies poking fun at stuff just for sake of poking fun, glorifying stupidity. It’s one of the shows that Katherine just plain ol’ isn’t allowed to watch (“Mommy and Daddy don’t like it”), and which we constantly struggle against, given the character’s iconic status on t-shirts and other tchochkes.<\/p>\n
All that said, I think this is the goofiest thing I’ve read in a long time<\/a>. Well, at least for the past few days.<\/p>\n Conservative Christian groups are criticizing a multicultural children’s video featuring SpongeBob SquarePants and other TV characters, claiming it promotes acceptance of gay and lesbian families.<\/p>\n […] The video does not explictly mention homosexuality but some Christian groups allege it promotes different kinds of families in singing “We Are Family.” The video encourages children to go to the We Are Family foundation’s Web site to sign a tolerance pledge.<\/p>\n “If you look at the Web site, it becomes pretty clear that a part of the agenda is to change the definition of family to include virtually anyone who chooses to be called a family, including homosexual couples and homosexual couples raising children,” said Peter Sprigg, senior director of policy studies of the Washington-based Family Research Council. “Much of what they have is coded language that is regularly used by the pro-homosexual movement such as `tolerance’ and `diversity.’<\/p>\n “Ultimately we feel that this is being used as propaganda to indoctrinate very small children to accept a different definition of family.”<\/p>\n Why is Sponge-Bob is being singled out for criticism, vs. all the other cartoon characters being used in the video (including such dubious types as Arthur, Barney, Dora the Explorer, and Clifford the Big Red Dog)? Probably because … well … there’s this deep-seated suspicion that Sponge-Bob may be … well … y’know … one of those<\/em>.<\/p>\n According to the New York Times, James C. Dobson, founder of the Colorado-based Focus on the Family, said the popular cartoon figure SpongeBob SquarePants would appear in “a pro-homosexual video.” Dobson made the comment while speaking at a congressional dinner in Washington Tuesday (Jan. 18).<\/p>\n “We see the video as an insidious means by which the organization is manipulating and potentially brainwashing kids,” Paul Batura, an assistant to Dobson, told The Times.<\/p>\n Well, if James Dobson is against Sponge-Bob, I might have to start watching the damned cartoon. Gee, thanks loads, Jim.<\/p>\n UPDATE: More commentary along this line here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I really dislike Sponge-Bob Squarepants. I think the animation is crude. I think the writing is awful. And I think it glorifies poking fun at stuff just for sake of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[45,25,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-cartoons","category-gay-stuff","category-zt-pc"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4749,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/01\/13\/nick.html","url_meta":{"origin":7649,"position":0},"title":"Nick","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 13-Jan-04 6:42am","format":false,"excerpt":"I know there are any number of adults out there who think Spongebob Squarepants is the greatest thing since Rocky & Bullwinkle -- or at least since Beavis and Butthead...","rel":"","context":"In "Parenting"","block_context":{"text":"Parenting","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/personal\/parenting"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17870,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/07\/14\/comic-con-panels.html","url_meta":{"origin":7649,"position":1},"title":"Comic-Con Panels","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 14-Jul-10 11:48pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Looking through the announced schedule for the San Diego Comic-Con, some observations \/ categorizations: Biggest Decision of Which Panel I'm Least Likely to Attend:\u00a0 Sat. 10:00-11:00 - Nickelodeon Presents: the \"SpongeBob SquarePants\" Secret Formula Revealed! or \"Twilight\" Fanfiction Author Fangroup Most Ironic Panel: Sat. 3:30-4:30 - Robert E. Howard in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Avatar \/ Airbender \/ Korra"","block_context":{"text":"Avatar \/ Airbender \/ Korra","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/franchises\/avatarairbenderkorra"},"img":{"alt_text":"San Diego Comic-Con","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/sdcc.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5118,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/10\/30\/a_floor_wax_and.html","url_meta":{"origin":7649,"position":2},"title":"A floor wax and a dessert topping","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 30-Oct-03 8:10am","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazing -- a single toy that can offend both Christian fundies and devoted Wiccans alike! By day, Barbie, Christie and Kayla are fashionable school girls, by night they turn into...","rel":"","context":"In "Religion"","block_context":{"text":"Religion","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/religion"},"img":{"alt_text":"Remember, they're *secret* spells!","src":"\/blog\/images\/secret-spells-barbie.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":136814,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/06\/22\/happy-30th-birthday-to-who-framed-roger-rabbit.html","url_meta":{"origin":7649,"position":3},"title":"Happy 30th Birthday to "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 22-Jun-18 11:56am","format":false,"excerpt":"A cool article about the movie and about how groundbreaking Bob Hoskins' acting as Eddie Valiant was. Bob Hoskins Invented the Modern Blockbuster Performance in 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' Robert Zemeckis\u2019 1988 masterpiece turns 30, and Bob Hoskins in Who Framed Roger Rabbit pinpoints the exact creation of modern Hollywood\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1736,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2002\/05\/08\/whats_better.html","url_meta":{"origin":7649,"position":4},"title":"What’s better?","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 8-May-02 11:47am","format":false,"excerpt":"For all of you who are fans of eye exams (\"Which is better ... number 1 ... or number 2? Number 1 ... or number 2?\") comes Whatsbetter.com, which seeks...","rel":"","context":"In "Potpourri"","block_context":{"text":"Potpourri","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/potpourri"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":128205,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/01\/dc-super-hero-girls-looks-fun.html","url_meta":{"origin":7649,"position":5},"title":""DC Super Hero Girls" looks … fun","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 1-Oct-15 10:09pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Not sure it will be my cuppa, but, hey, super-hero stuff is super-hero stuff. Yay, genre!http:\/\/www.themarysue.com\/dcs-super-hero-girls\/I've also come to realize that I don't worry too much about continuity in this kind of stuff. 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