Polish town opposes Pooh Bear for unclear gender

Associated Press ^ | Nov 22, 2014 2:26 AM EST

[Olog-hai]

Officials in a Polish town (Tuszyn) have opposed a proposition to name a playground after Winnie-the-Pooh due to the bear’s unclear gender and immodest clothing. […]

Voice recordings of the meeting were leaked to the media in which officials complained that Pooh Bear is immodestly dressed and also lacks a clear gender. One called the bear a “hermaphrodite.” …

[beaversmom]

It seems that Pooh-pooh is also a Satan worshipper. :(

Warning...some language:
http://youtu.be/aLd7-bXv8NA

[Yardstick]

The thing about cartoon animals is that when it comes to clothes, it’s kinda gotta be all or nothing. No clothes at all means your fur is your clothing, so no problem there. Where Pooh gets into trouble is in wearing the shirt but skipping the pants. It’s a mixed message that suggests the possibility of nakedness while at the same time leaving possible nakedness exposed. And yes, Donald Duck, this means you too, buddy.

[Sherman Logan]

Historically speaking, Poles have excellent reasons to dislike Russians. As, of course, going back a couple more centuries, the Russians have to dislike Poles.

[BeadCounter]

He saw an animal that liked to growl
Big furry paws and he liked to howl
Great big furry back and furry hair
“Ah, think I’ll call it a bear”.

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/bob_dylan/man_gave_names_to_all_the_animals.html

Bob Dylan, but during his Christian music era.

[x]

Why give Disney the free publicity?

[x]

You could say the same thing about the French and the Germans with as much (or as little) justice.

[beaversmom]

The Muslims seem to like Pooh-pooh, but not the piggie:

Muslims want Pooh, not Piglet
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/nov/15/books.booksnews1

[Sherman Logan]

True. Or the French and English, or the Irish and English.

Europe does not have a long history of playing nice together.

[RedMDer]

KEEP FR GOING STRONG

We need your help to keep the lights on.
FR is funded solely by contributions made by
liberty loving people who enjoy and use it.

Every donation counts no matter how big or small.
If you can donate $5, $10, $20, $100 or more,
it would be greatly appreciated. 

[Olog-hai]

The character is not a Disney original by far. Disney adapted A.A. Milne’s stories and E.H. Shepard’s artwork, and Pooh is unclothed (most of the time) in the original artwork.

[real saxophonist]

Yogi Bear wears a hat, a collar and a tie. And nothine else. Boo Boo Bear wears only a bowtie.

Once upon a time I had a girlfriend who called me Boo Boo Bear. I never did figure out why.

[x]

For all intents and purposes, Winnie's now a corporate shill. The family and the other heirs basically sold out for millions years ago, and there have also been costly court cases.

There's a irony here -- if the town loved Winnie so much that they did name the park after Winnie and used his image, Disney could well possibly them for copyright infringement -- so they're better off coming up with their own name for the park.

FWIW: There is a popular urban legend that Donald Duck was once banned in Finland for not having any pants. This myth was sparked up by an incident in 1977, when Helsinki councilman Markku Holopainen proposed discontinuing the use of city funds for the purchase of Aku Ankka comics [Donald Duck in Finnish] for youth centers, to cope with the city's financial difficulties. The following year, as Holopainen was running for a Parliament seat, his opponent called him "the man who banned Donald Duck from Helsinki". Holopainen lost the election. Wikipedia

[dfwgator]

Gee I can't imagine why Poles would dislike Russians.....

[Snowyman]

Winnie was a SHE. Christopher Milne had named his toy bear after Winnie, a Canadian black bear he often saw at London Zoo, and "Pooh", a swan they had met while on holiday. The bear cub was purchased from a hunter for $20 by Canadian Lieutenant Harry Colebourn in White River, Ontario, Canada, while en route to England during the First World War. He named the bear "Winnie" after his adopted hometown in Winnipeg, Manitoba. "Winnie" was surreptitiously brought to England with her owner, and gained unofficial recognition as The Fort Garry Horse regimental mascot. Colebourn left Winnie at the London Zoo while he and his unit were in France; after the war she was officially donated to the zoo,as she had become a much loved attraction there.

[Veggie Todd]

Tigger was definitely on speed.

[Hugin]

He’s a Teddy Bear for God’s sake. So do Poles sew genitalia on theirs? These people have dirty minds.

[Oztrich Boy]

Yes but if you were familar with the original literary source material, there it is explained to the narrator by The Boy, that because the toy bear is a boy bear, he is called Winnie-the-Pooh, not Winnie

[Oztrich Boy]

Exactly

The half naked appears to be Walt's kink, not AA Milne's

[Snowyman]

In other words Winnie “ boy bear” was “the pooh” A swan.

[a fool in paradise]

Disney doesn’t own the character, but AP was trolling for clicks and was successful by making more jokes at the Poles’ expense (again, they had another article awhile back about a Polish photographer who fell of a cliff backing up to take a shot).

Near the end of the very brief article, it came out that it was a joke made at the end of a meeting about the playground that was going on entirely too long.