HIV-Positive Muppet Coming to Sesame Street

Christian News Network ^ | July 12, 2002

[NYer]

The character -- which has yet to have a name or final colour or form -- will travel to many if not all of the eight other nations that air versions of the educational children's show that began in the United States in 1969, said Joel Schneider, vice president and senior adviser to the Sesame Street Workshop.

What are the INS regulations on admitting HIV positive visitors to the U.S.?

[Inkie]

Wow, I had no idea that the state could still intrude like that, with non-academic subjects, if you were home-schooling.

My son and his wife plan to have kids in a couple of years. I am hoping that they will home school and if they can't, that they will let me do it. I don't know the laws in California about making home schoolers certify that they've taught some of these controversial subjects.

[american spirit]

Add to that list the DARE program which by all accounts has
been a failure. I didn't subject my kids to that Clinton
inspired idiocy because at 10-11 yrs. old kids have enough
on their plate with pre-teen situtations to contend with. IMO DARE was nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to lure young children into the drug culture.

[dead]

It's not just the muppets.

I wasn't going to say anything, but Barney's been getting alarmingly thin and has developed skin lesions and a reedy cough.

[RonF]

"Add to that list the DARE program which by all accounts has been a failure. I didn't subject my kids to that Clinton inspired idiocy because at 10-11 yrs. old kids have enough on their plate with pre-teen situtations to contend with. IMO DARE was nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to lure young children into the drug culture."

Interesting that you would say so. According to DARE's own web site, DARE originated in 1983 in LA. Reagan's administration then pushed it across the nation. I must say I'm impressed that you have seen through the obviously bogus anti-drug message that President and Mrs. "Just Say No" were putting out and have discovered their real agenda. And, by the way, congratulations on your careful fact checking. We wouldn't want our political views to stand in the way of facts, now would we?

[RonF]

Your point may well be taken in America. However ....

Note that this character is originating in South Africa. South Africa is undergoing an epidemic of AIDS. Enormous numbers of people have the disease. An incredible number of kids are being orphaned because of this disease, and many more know a friend or acquaintance or schoolmate whose parents have the disease or have died of it. In this case, life is shoving these kids faces in this stuff.

You are quite correct. These kids are being cheated out of their childhoods. But, not by this TV show.

Now, whether it's appropriate to bring this to America is another question. But where it's starting off, they need it.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Hey, maybe the HIV postive muppet is this guy ;-)

[patriot_wes]

"HIV-Positive Muppet Coming to Sesame Street"

you know, I'm getting so sick of these queers and their disease being paraded in front of everybody!!!!! I think carriers of this killer should be quarantined, not put up on a pedastile.....

did I spell that correctly?

[Kermit]

"...Joel Schneider, the vice president and senior adviser to the Sesame Street Workshop, made the announcement Thursday at the 14th International AIDS Conference now underway in Barcelona, Spain."

Another first for AIDS, the only disease with a pathogen that has civil rights, the only disease that has political conventions, now, AIDS is the only disease with a cartoon character on tv.

I predict they will make the HIV character in South Africa "white". They don't want to encourage stereotypes by making it "black".

[Dakmar]

The only disease that although self-inflicted, it's carriers are portrayed as heros.

[latina4dubya]

right now, California doesn't have any "rules" on homeschooling curriculum... you don't have to certify in anything... but we have to stay on top of things, because the state does try to interfere every now and then...

this fall will be our second year homeschooling in California... it's one of the best decisions we've ever made...

[Inkie]

Thanks for the clarification. I agree with you!

[Slyfox]

Oh, you mean this guy?