Am I just too literal?

[Parrothead]

I read this article and now I am seriously wondering about people in general.

 

First off I don't think celebrities should be news. If one of them dies, okay a small article. But is Burt really a celebrity? It is a puppet!

 

Second, as a puppet, it can't have s*x of any kind. It is an inanimate object. Someone has to stick his hand up its back (or whatever) to make it move. It can't have feelings toward a person or even another puppet.

 

This is the kind of thing that makes me :banghead:. I know now the world is being run by people with too much time on their hands.

[cindergretta]

Oh my. I don't even know where to go with that.

 

Somebody (lots of somebodies???) have too much time... :tongue_smilie:

[catalinakel]

Our tax dollars at work.....public television at its finest.

[Mrs Mungo]

Chucki, I agree, that is crazy.

 

Catalinakel, why bash PBS or Sesame Street? They didn't say anything to imply what the rumor mill claimed.

[WishboneDawn]

Our tax dollars at work.....public television at its finest.

:001_rolleyes:

 

This is the tweet in question, "Ever notice how similar my hair is to Mr. T's? The only difference is mine is a little more 'mo,' a little less 'hawk."

 

Does that really seem like a solid basis on which to make any kind of judgement about public television?

 

Honestly, it seems to me like there's a group of people out there who are so paranoid about anything that might even hint at homosexuality that they are primed to see threatening hints of it everywhere. These are the same people that see Jesus in toast or think rainbows in sprinklers are a sign of oil pollution in the water supply.

 

We used to look for the tin foil hats these people would own. Now we feature their fantasies on news websites and let their claims inform our views??

[Heatherwith4]

Wow. Like the spokeswoman for Sesame Street said: they are puppets; they have no sexuality! I think the whole thing is nuts.

[Impish]

It hurts my head, the idiotic things ppl come up with. :glare:

[lionfamily1999]

I wouldn't be surprised if this was bumped up by people on both sides of the "mo" debate, iykwIm. Either way, poor Sesame Street.

 

I'm so tired of people trying to pry into the lives of imaginary characters. I mean, really?!?

[dirty ethel rackham]

 

This is the tweet in question, "Ever notice how similar my hair is to Mr. T's? The only difference is mine is a little more 'mo,' a little less 'hawk."

 

<snip>

 

Honestly, it seems to me like there's a group of people out there who are so paranoid about anything that might even hint at homosexuality that they are primed to see threatening hints of it everywhere. These are the same people that see Jesus in toast or think rainbows in sprinklers are a sign of oil pollution in the water supply.

 

 

Actually, the people promoting this are the GLT community. It wasn't a tv preacher this time. They are trying to promote "awareness" by taking a beloved figure and "outing" him (whether or not it is what Jim Henson intended.)

[lionfamily1999]

Actually, the people promoting this are the GLT community. It wasn't a tv preacher this time. They are trying to promote "awareness" by taking a beloved figure and "outing" him (whether or not it is what Jim Henson intended.)

:iagree:

[smrtmama]

Actually, the people promoting this are the GLT community. It wasn't a tv preacher this time. They are trying to promote "awareness" by taking a beloved figure and "outing" him (whether or not it is what Jim Henson intended.)

 

And wouldn't it be horrible if Jim Henson HAD imagined Burt to be gay?

 

No, wait. It really wouldn't. It wouldn't matter a bit. So what if he's gay? Do they show Burt and Ernie engaging in gay sex? Do they show naked puppets, period? Of course not. And really, if you think people are just NOW expressing the theory that Burt and Ernie are a gay couple, you've been living under a bush.

 

I'm saddened, though not surprised, by how virulent the homophobia is in this community and in the US in general, that people would get so worked up over someone's interpretation of Burt as gay.

[Mejane]

After the whole Teletubbies thing, nothing surprises me. :rolleyes:

[Impish]

And wouldn't it be horrible if Jim Henson HAD imagined Burt to be gay?

 

No, wait. It really wouldn't. It wouldn't matter a bit. So what if he's gay? Do they show Burt and Ernie engaging in gay sex? Do they show naked puppets, period? Of course not. And really, if you think people are just NOW expressing the theory that Burt and Ernie are a gay couple, you've been living under a bush.

 

I'm saddened, though not surprised, by how virulent the homophobia is in this community and in the US in general, that people would get so worked up over someone's interpretation of Burt as gay.

I truly don't see where the homophobia comes in. Its a muppet. Not a person, not anatomically correct, nada. A child's plaything doesn't have the ability to be gay or straight.

 

I personally find it ridiculous that anyone tries to assign sexual identity to a toy. Its pushing an adult's agenda onto a child. Kids, imo, don't need that kind of agenda. Sesame St is aimed at preschoolers. I just don't see the need for any of it.

 

Btw, Bert and Ernie were named after the cop and taxi driver from Its A Wonderful Life. That bit of useless trivia is stuck in my head :lol:

[LibraryLover]

Fox News is restricted in my house. ;) I clicked your link, but when I saw the messenger I had to click out. ;)

 

I read this article and now I am seriously wondering about people in general.

 

First off I don't think celebrities should be news. If one of them dies, okay a small article. But is Burt really a celebrity? It is a puppet!

 

Second, as a puppet, it can't have s*x of any kind. It is an inanimate object. Someone has to stick his hand up its back (or whatever) to make it move. It can't have feelings toward a person or even another puppet.

 

This is the kind of thing that makes me :banghead:. I know now the world is being run by people with too much time on their hands.

Edited October 27, 2010 by LibraryLover

[LibraryLover]

Chucki, I agree, that is crazy.

 

Catalinakel, why bash PBS or Sesame Street? They didn't say anything to imply what the rumor mill claimed.

 

 

Exactly.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

Do they show naked puppets, period? Of course not.

 

Actually, all these years, I've been wondering why Cookie Monster and Kermit as well as Elmo and Big Bird don't wear clothes. Hmmm...;)

[GWOB]

Oh puh-leeze! I am at a loss for words. I just.... It's just..... Ok, I'll come out and say it. Fox news is stupid. Period. How is this even newsworthy? Are they going to send out homosexual inquisition squads? Barf, barf, and barf!

[Impish]

Actually, all these years, I've been wondering why Cookie Monster and Kermit as well as Elmo and Big Bird don't wear clothes. Hmmm...;)

And Oscar. And Snuffalupagus. Grover. Harry.

 

Personally, I thought the show was more fun when everyone thought Snuffy was just Big Bird hallucinating. :lol:

[MomOfOneFunOne]

Burt tweets? huh, imagine . . .

 

oh, and ppl read it . . . oh.

 

oh wait, adult ppl read it?

 

excuse me while I head back over to the restricting pop culture thread . . .:auto:

[Karen in CO]

:001_rolleyes:

 

 

We used to look for the tin foil hats these people would own. Now we feature their fantasies on news websites and let their claims inform our views??

 

:iagree:

Well said.

[Wendi]

Oh puh-leeze! I am at a loss for words. I just.... It's just..... Ok, I'll come out and say it. Fox news is stupid. Period. How is this even newsworthy? Are they going to send out homosexual inquisition squads? Barf, barf, and barf!

 

Fox is only one of MANY media sources for this "news". A quick google brings up pages of hits, from gay websites to UPI to cbsnews.com.

 

Wendi

[Mimm]

Yeah ok, so they are puppets and they can't literally be gay. But they can't literally walk, or eat, or sing songs either. They are characters and those characters can be gay. Sesame Street could decide that those characters are gay. Though, from reading that tweet that started this all, it seems like people are desperate to make something out of nothing.

[GWOB]

We used to look for the tin foil hats these people would own. Now we feature their fantasies on news websites and let their claims inform our views??

 

Instead of tin-foil hats, these people now sport John Wayne shirts and mis-matched outfits to ward off "the gay".

[Dayle in Guatemala]

And Oscar. And Snuffalupagus. Grover. Harry.

 

Personally, I thought the show was more fun when everyone thought Snuffy was just Big Bird hallucinating. :lol:

 

 

Oh. My. Word. It's just more depraved than I realized! LOL

[LaissezFaire]

No brain, no heart, no genitalia= No orientation. LOL.

 

It doesn't worry me, it's just someone having fun on Twitter and people will always infer what they will from other's tweets.

[Parrothead]

And wouldn't it be horrible if Jim Henson HAD imagined Burt to be gay?

 

No, wait. It really wouldn't. It wouldn't matter a bit. So what if he's gay? Do they show Burt and Ernie engaging in gay sex? Do they show naked puppets, period? Of course not. And really, if you think people are just NOW expressing the theory that Burt and Ernie are a gay couple, you've been living under a bush.

 

I'm saddened, though not surprised, by how virulent the homophobia is in this community and in the US in general, that people would get so worked up over someone's interpretation of Burt as gay.

There is nothing homophobic about my post or about me. I'd say I'm more trashaphobic. My comment was more along the line of what is considered news.

 

Do you really look upon the Burt and Ernie puppets as having sexuality? You are arguing awful hard for it? Is this something that happens at night when all the humans leave the set?

 

It is a toy. A puppet. It has no genitalia so it can't have s*x - straight or gay. Why are adults trying to assign sexuality to a puppet? And why is the fact that they are news?

[pdalley]

 

It is a toy. A puppet. It has no genitalia so it can't have s*x - straight or gay. Why are adults trying to assign sexuality to a puppet? And why is the fact that they are news?

 

 

:iagree: Bert and Ernie as asexual and have always been to me. I always felt puppets - due to their make up - were asexual. I feel if Jim Henson had meant it otherwise he'd of said so while he was living.

 

I felt the same way about the Teletubby thing all those years ago.

 

And this is a children's program. Why does sex of any description come into play?

[Parrothead]

Oh puh-leeze! I am at a loss for words. I just.... It's just..... Ok, I'll come out and say it. Fox news is stupid. Period. !

This is a very mature argument that will certainly pull all viewers/readers of Fox news from their choice of news outlet.

 

How is this even newsworthy?

That was my question. As someone has already stated, there were several news outlets running the story, not just Fox news.

 

Are they going to send out homosexual inquisition squads? Barf, barf, and barf

 

Who is "they" that you refer to? Who is this comment aimed at?

[Mejane]

Maybe people are being influenced by Avenue Q. Some of those puppets "self-identify" as gay. ;):D

[kalphs]

Oh brother!

Mo-hawk = mohawk like the haircut in my mind.

I always viewed Bert and Ernie like Oscar and Felix from "The Odd Couple."

Sadly we have family members who are quick to jump on the "mo equals homosexual" bandwagon. Of course there will always be those who "read into things" to promote their own agenda.

[Miss Peregrine]

Burt tweets? huh, imagine . . .

 

oh, and ppl read it . . . oh.

 

oh wait, adult ppl read it?

 

:auto:

 

:lol: Yeah, that.

[Daisy]

I read this article and now I am seriously wondering about people in general.

 

First off I don't think celebrities should be news. If one of them dies, okay a small article. But is Burt really a celebrity? It is a puppet!

 

Second, as a puppet, it can't have s*x of any kind. It is an inanimate object. Someone has to stick his hand up its back (or whatever) to make it move. It can't have feelings toward a person or even another puppet.

 

This is the kind of thing that makes me :banghead:. I know now the world is being run by people with too much time on their hands.

 

:iagree: I completely agree.

 

Why we need to sexualize a child's puppet is absolutely beyond my comprehension.

[nmoira]

Maybe people are being influenced by Avenue Q. Some of those puppets "self-identify" as gay. ;):D

 

Forget Avenue Q.... Meet the Feebles. I haven't been able to watch Muppets or anything Muppets inspired since.

 

Back to the OP: I've assumed for years that Bert and Ernie were gay. It's not something that's "out there" though.

[LibraryLover]

Forget Avenue Q.... Meet the Feebles. I haven't been able to watch Muppets or anything Muppets inspired since.

 

Back to the OP: I've assumed for years that Bert and Ernie were gay. It's not something that's "out there" though.

 

I always thought they were old maid brothers. Twin beds and all.

[GWOB]

This is a very mature argument that will certainly pull all viewers/readers of Fox news from their choice of news outlet.

 

I read a number of other news sites. This is the first time I came across this story. I was mistaken in assuming Fox was the only one running the story. For that I admit my ignorance.

 

That was my question. As someone has already stated, there were several news outlets running the story, not just Fox news.

 

 

 

Who is "they" that you refer to? Who is this comment aimed at?

I read this right after reading the thread on homosexual bullying. I'm just really miffed about the whole anti-gay movement. This just kinda hit a nerve. Sorry.

 

 

 

What really bugs me is that this story started out as a joke. I got a more serious vibe from the Fox News article. Now, I do admit bias against Fox News, so maybe that's what I felt more than anything else. Maybe I'm suspicious of the timing of this article as it coincides with the anti-bullying campaigns. I do think it is strange that we are trying to combat this recent high-profile string of suicides by gay teens who have been bullied, yet here is an article discussing the secret gay agenda.

[Gwenhwyfar]

Fox News is restricted in my house. ;) I clicked your link, but when I saw the messenger I had to click out. ;)

 

ok someone want to explain to the canadian just what the whole "fox news" thing is about? this isn't the first time i've seen someone make a comment about it - i looked around the site and it just looks like a normal news website...it looks a lot like your big CNN website with all the same tabs and stuff...

 

what's the deal? nosy canuck wants to know! :bigear:

[brehon]

Burt tweets? huh, imagine . . .

 

oh, and ppl read it . . . oh.

 

oh wait, adult ppl read it?

 

excuse me while I head back over to the restricting pop culture thread . . .:auto:

 

*snort* Ayup. About sums it up.

 

Chucki, I don't think this is at all newsworthy. Of course, I think I might have a slightly skewed view on what "news" is.

[pdalley]

ok someone want to explain to the canadian just what the whole "fox news" thing is about? this isn't the first time i've seen someone make a comment about it - i looked around the site and it just looks like a normal news website...it looks a lot like your big CNN website with all the same tabs and stuff...

 

what's the deal? nosy canuck wants to know! :bigear:

 

 

Well supposedly Fox has an 'agenda'. I maintain all main news media outlets have an 'agenda'. Quite frankly I wouldn't trust the mainstream media - and yes, that includes Fox - to tell me if it were raining outside without my personal observation that it is actually raining outside.

 

I get my news online from many sources - mostly overseas. And I still only believe about half of what I read. People have agendas and people make up media outlets.

[Danestress]

Ernie and Bert are puppets, and you are right. They have no genitals. So they can't be male or female, but they sort of are, aren't they? Because they have personalities assigned to them which the creator then develops. They are boys, right? Even though they are really just pieces of fabric.

 

So it makes sense to me that the creators might say, "Ernie is older" or "Bert is the bossy one" because they are developing them to have personalities and then there will be story lines. They make them more real. They could decide that Bert has a friend who is Jewish and make a story out of that, even though, honestly, puppets don't have friends and they can't be Jewish. Bert might develop a passion for cookies and refuse to eat his dinner before his cookies, and that's another plot line, even though puppets can't actually eat.

 

I think you are seeing an indication that the creators of this puppet show are going to develop a new part of an identity - that Ernie (or was it Bert?) is gay. No, puppets can't really be gay or Jewish or eat food or be male or female. But the identities were associate with those puppets can.

[silliness7]

:001_rolleyes:

 

This is the tweet in question, "Ever notice how similar my hair is to Mr. T's? The only difference is mine is a little more 'mo,' a little less 'hawk."

 

Does that really seem like a solid basis on which to make any kind of judgement about public television?

 

Honestly, it seems to me like there's a group of people out there who are so paranoid about anything that might even hint at homosexuality that they are primed to see threatening hints of it everywhere. These are the same people that see Jesus in toast or think rainbows in sprinklers are a sign of oil pollution in the water supply.

 

We used to look for the tin foil hats these people would own. Now we feature their fantasies on news websites and let their claims inform our views??

 

Actually it was the LGBT community who were the ones making more of the hair comment than was actually meant- not the Jesus-toast-seers.

[LibraryLover]

ok someone want to explain to the canadian just what the whole "fox news" thing is about? this isn't the first time i've seen someone make a comment about it - i looked around the site and it just looks like a normal news website...it looks a lot like your big CNN website with all the same tabs and stuff...

 

what's the deal? nosy canuck wants to know! :bigear:

 

 

I don't get cable, so there is no Fox news in my house, plus I am not really into 'restricting'. (See other thread). Read around Fox news for a bit, click on Bill O'Reilly. See if you feel comfy.

 

A lot of people love Fox News. Maybe you will too. (But having read your posts here, I doubt it. :001_smile:)

[justamouse]

Bert? Seriously? I still haven't recovered from the Cookie Monster not eating cookies anymore.

 

I'm another that was suspect as soon as it was Fox. they're totally anti liberal anything so of course they would report that Bert has a gay agenda. (Yes, I understand that the GBLT community were the first to play with 'Mo') but for Fox to take that, hold it up and say, "See? These liberals and their gay agenda is taking over the world! Rage!"

 

But in a way, Whishbone is right-Fox panders to that spectrum of people.

[silliness7]

Bert? Seriously? I still haven't recovered from the Cookie Monster not eating cookies anymore.

 

I'm another that was suspect as soon as it was Fox. they're totally anti liberal anything so of course they would report that Bert has a gay agenda. (Yes, I understand that the GBLT community were the first to play with 'Mo') but for Fox to take that, hold it up and say, "See? These liberals and their gay agenda is taking over the world! Rage!"

 

But in a way, Whishbone is right-Fox panders to that spectrum of people.

 

Oh, sorry. I didn't get that this was a Fox News bash...and everyone who watches Fox News bash.

 

The story is all over the internet. So I'm not understanding the big, bad, Fox News thing for having an article about it. It appears that the LA Times was the first to run with it. Can we bash them now?

[lionfamily1999]

I truly don't see where the homophobia comes in. Its a muppet. Not a person, not anatomically correct, nada. A child's plaything doesn't have the ability to be gay or straight.

 

I personally find it ridiculous that anyone tries to assign sexual identity to a toy. Its pushing an adult's agenda onto a child. Kids, imo, don't need that kind of agenda. Sesame St is aimed at preschoolers. I just don't see the need for any of it.

 

Btw, Bert and Ernie were named after the cop and taxi driver from Its A Wonderful Life. That bit of useless trivia is stuck in my head :lol:

 

:iagree:

Burt tweets? huh, imagine . . .

 

oh, and ppl read it . . . oh.

 

oh wait, adult ppl read it?

 

excuse me while I head back over to the restricting pop culture thread . . .:auto:

:lol::iagree:

Ernie and Bert are puppets, and you are right. They have no genitals. So they can't be male or female, but they sort of are, aren't they? Because they have personalities assigned to them which the creator then develops. They are boys, right? Even though they are really just pieces of fabric.

 

So it makes sense to me that the creators might say, "Ernie is older" or "Bert is the bossy one" because they are developing them to have personalities and then there will be story lines. They make them more real. They could decide that Bert has a friend who is Jewish and make a story out of that, even though, honestly, puppets don't have friends and they can't be Jewish. Bert might develop a passion for cookies and refuse to eat his dinner before his cookies, and that's another plot line, even though puppets can't actually eat.

 

I think you are seeing an indication that the creators of this puppet show are going to develop a new part of an identity - that Ernie (or was it Bert?) is gay. No, puppets can't really be gay or Jewish or eat food or be male or female. But the identities were associate with those puppets can.

I think we're seeing an indication that the glb community is trying to identify with Burt as gay, because that would further their cause.

 

Sesame Street has not identified Burt as gay, they did and then media outlets screeched it to the world.

[nmoira]

 

I always thought they were old maid brothers. Twin beds and all.

I find it unlikely they would be permitted to have a single bed, and many couples do sleep in separate beds. That said, I don't think the question of Bert's sexuality matters, except to adults.

[Daisy]

I find it unlikely they would be permitted to have a single bed, and many couples do sleep in separate beds. That said, I don't think the question of Bert's sexuality matters, except to adults.

 

Exactly.

[LibraryLover]

I find it unlikely they would be permitted to have a single bed, and many couples do sleep in separate beds. That said, I don't think the question of Bert's sexuality matters, except to adults.

 

 

Lucy & Ricky had separate beds. Rob & Laura, too. Funnily enough, Archie & Edith didn't.

[Gwenhwyfar]

Well supposedly Fox has an 'agenda'. I maintain all main news media outlets have an 'agenda'. Quite frankly I wouldn't trust the mainstream media - and yes, that includes Fox - to tell me if it were raining outside without my personal observation that it is actually raining outside.

 

I get my news online from many sources - mostly overseas. And I still only believe about half of what I read. People have agendas and people make up media outlets.

 

i've never really thought about the news "having an agenda" ... i don't read or watch a whole lot of it though... interesting, thanks.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I truly don't see where the homophobia comes in. Its a muppet. Not a person, not anatomically correct, nada. A child's plaything doesn't have the ability to be gay or straight.

 

I personally find it ridiculous that anyone tries to assign sexual identity to a toy. Its pushing an adult's agenda onto a child. Kids, imo, don't need that kind of agenda. Sesame St is aimed at preschoolers. I just don't see the need for any of it.

 

 

That was my point - that it was adults pushing their agenda. Why does it have to be important?

[Gwenhwyfar]

I don't get cable, so there is no Fox news in my house, plus I am not really into 'restricting'. (See other thread). Read around Fox news for a bit, click on Bill O'Reilly. See if you feel comfy.

 

A lot of people love Fox News. Maybe you will too. (But having read your posts here, I doubt it. :001_smile:)

 

i was about to say "oh so it's a tv news broadcast too?" and then something clicked in my head and i remember hearing "fox news at nine" or something like that on a tv station here (we get a fair number of american channels) ..i've never watched it, but i do remember hearing that. (i don't watch a lot of tv ON the tv - mostly prefer getting shows on dvd)

 

anyway, i've no idea who Bill O'Reilly is, but will do. thanks!