Posted on 11/22/2018 4:30:29 PM PST by Simon Green
Tonight, ABC aired the classic animated Peanuts special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and while many fans tuned in for the warmth of nostalgia to kick off their holiday season, many came away with a less than fuzzy feeling when it came to how one specific character was treated.
The special centers around a somewhat impromptu holiday meal that happens when Peppermint Patty invites herself and several others over to Charlie Brown and Sally's house for Thanksgiving despite the fact that they're preparing to go to their grandmother's for the feast. After a little help from Linus, who convinces Charlie they can have two Thanksgivings, as well as Woodstock and Snoopy who do the cooking, a friends' Thanksgiving is on.
The meal -- buttered toast, pretzel sticks, popcorn, jelly beans, and an ice cream sundae -- is served at a table in the backyard, and while all's well that ends well with everyone ending up invited to Charlie and Sally's grandmother's meal, it's the seating arrangements at this unusual dinner that has some fans on social media heated. Franklin, the one and only black friend in the group, is seated by himself on one side of the table while the other is crowded with the rest of the friends. On top of that, he's sitting in a lawn chair as opposed to everyone else's proper furniture.
It's... not a good look, which viewers were quick to point out. Many felt the scene was in bad taste at a minimum and racist at worse, with most settling into the idea that the special simply hasn't aged well. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving first aired on November 20, 1973 on CBS where it aired every year until 2000. In 2001, it moved to ABC with the rest of the Peanuts specials and has continued to air annually.
Good grief, for all they know in the cartoonist’s mind, Franklin was left-handed and kept bumping everyone else’s elbows.
Franklin’s also the only one with a spoon- talk about black privilege.
Hah. Left handed eater here.
The real racists are those that see racism in everything.
JoMa
I grew up watching that every year. I don’t remember that scene at all like that. Seems to me the “outrage” and racism is all in their minds. Everyone else watching it sees a touching holiday special.
That's because Lucy is sitting on the same side as Franklin.
Someone altered the original to move her to the opposite side, and dumb people are claiming racism.
Looks like Franklin is the only one who rates silverware.
He’s also the only one with a spoon. Either the rest of them are going to stick their faces in their plates, or they stole the silverware.
There are two place settings on Franklin’s side of the table.
I think someone did a screen grab before Lucy sat down.
I tell ya liberals really do have a lot of time on their hands don’t they..empty heads as my mother would say..nothing better to do with their miserable existence than to watch a classic and find something to be outraged about.
I don’t believe that’s correct. I just watched the special, and Lucy isn’t even at the table.
Franklin IS seated across from Charlie Brown, the star of the show.
Isn’t that supposed to be an honor of sorts?
I’m so tired of hyper racist hatemongers jumping on things from 30-40-50 years ago.
Enough!
That illustration appears to be from a book, not the TV special.
I think it was an intentional linguistic device Schultz used to reinforce Marcie’s personality... that she was socially awkward. When she was introduced to the strip it was as part of a camp scene, and bossy Peppermint Patty was the “barracks” leader- I suppose Marcie could have called her “Sarge” but it was summer camp not boot camp. Schultz probably liked this solecism as a way to give the character a quirk that would make her distinctive and memorable- she was intended to be a very smart but awkward or introverted girl that had demanding parents.
Talk about not aging well, wait till these losers see the A Charlie Brown Christmas! They haven’t even changed it to A Charlie Brown Holiday. Worse yet Christ is actually spoken of, and they’re not laughing either.
Another left handed type myself.
Franklin got the most comfortable seat.
They need to get over themselves. If it bothers them that much, then don’t watch it next year.
“The picture in the article was altered.”
https://youtu.be/LNw8f02wuTo?t=503
Yes. It was altered. Not only are delicate leftists too easily offended to live in the real world, they lie so they can take offense at their fantasy worlds. Someone spent time smashing Snoopy, Peppermint Patty, and Charlie Brown together to make room for the flipped image of Lucy. Pathetic.
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