Hands Off SpongeBob!(Reuters more accurate than the NYTIMES)

Toonzone via Instapundit. ^ | 01/21/05 | Maxie Zeus

[Pikamax]

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First they came for the Teletubbies and I did nothing, because I hate mewling horribles who live in Orwellian romper rooms. But then they came for SpongeBob SquarePants. Now it's time to march.

That's the reaction a lot of people--not all of them cartoon fans--seem to have had when The New York Times on Thursday reported that James Dobson had criticized Nickelodeon's cheerful yellow sponge for appearing in a video promoting tolerance. The problem, apparently, is that the kind of tolerance being promoted would extend to (among others) people who are gay.

People who read the Times account weren't very happy with Dobson. Over dinner, for instance, my sister laid it on the table with the off-hand remark, "I see that now they're attacking SpongeBob for being gay." "They" are not one of her favorite groups. Nor one of mine.

At Toon Zone, we haven't followed this story with focused interest. But I have watched, with a mounting dread, as each piece of the current controversy started to fall into place. Last November we reported on the video now being criticized.

We reported, too, when the attacks started earlier this month.

And on Thursday we duly carried a summary and link to the Times article (registration required; here is a hassle-free copy).

So I'm not exactly surprised to see this break out into the wider world. While posting the earlier articles I could be heard silently muttering to myself: "3… 2… 1… Make controversy go now!" Complaints that cartoons are corrupting our kids are about as bewhiskered as the Bugs Bunny in a dress gag. This kind of hysteria makes me very tired, both because it's very silly and also very old.

At the same time, let's remember that it's The New York Times we're dealing with. These days it helps to have an advanced degree in Kremlinology while perusing their articles.

Look at the Times opening grafs:

On the heels of electoral victories to bar same-sex marriage, some influential conservative Christian groups are turning their attention to a new target: SpongeBob SquarePants.

"Does anybody here know SpongeBob?" James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, asked the guests Tuesday night at a black-tie dinner for members of Congress and political allies to celebrate the election results.

In many circles, SpongeBob needs no introduction. He is popular among children and grownups as well who watch him cavorting under the sea on the Nickelodeon cartoon program that bears his name. In addition, he has become a camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds hands with his animated sidekick Patrick.

Now, Dobson said, SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a "pro-homosexual video," in which he appeared alongside other children's television characters such as Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others.

Compare it with this summary from Reuters:

Christian Conservative groups have issued a gay alert warning over a children's video starring SpongeBob SquarePants, Barney and a host of other cartoon favorites.

The wacky square yellow SpongeBob is one of the stars of a music video due to be sent to 61,000 U.S. schools in March. The makers -- the nonprofit We Are Family Foundation -- say the video is designed to encourage tolerance and diversity.

But at least two Christian activist groups say the innocent cartoon characters are being exploited to promote the acceptance of homosexuality.

Notice the difference?

The Times: Several conservative Christian groups are criticizing SpongeBob SquarePants for appearing in a video that they claim promotes homosexuality. (Those are the words of our reporter Ace the Bathound.)

Reuters: Christian groups are criticizing a video that exploits cartoon characters to advance a pro-gay agenda.

As Reuters describes it, Christian groups are attacking a video; the various cartoon characters and entertainers who appear in it are being criticized indirectly (if at all) for lending themselves to an agenda that these critics deplore. As the Times describes it, though, these groups are specifically attacking SpongeBob. And by sticking in an early and gratuitous reference to SpongeBob's popularity with gay men (a point utterly irrelevant to a story about the video), the Times creates the impression that Dobson is attacking SpongeBob for being a gay icon. No wonder a casual reader comes away with the impression that Dobson is attacking SpongeBob for being gay.

In fact, if you read the Times article carefully you'll see that it adds nothing to the story carried by WorldNetDaily two weeks ago, except for some innuendo about a popular cartoon character. (Reuters' more pellucid summary makes clear that the story hasn't advanced in the last two weeks.) Of course, I don't know for sure: maybe Dobson went off on an anti-gay tirade in which he mocked SpongeBob for his cheerfulness, his tendency to skip and sing, and his fondness for holding hands with his best friend Patrick. But if so, why is the only Dobson quote in the Times the colorless "Does anybody here know SpongeBob?"

I'm not interested in the "gay" angle to SpongeBob, and as an editor and reporter on this site I have no interest in gay marriage, gay rights or any of the other social controversies that so exercise Dobson. I think Dobson and his allies are very foolish to treat what sounds like a bland grammar-school video as a threat to American values; I think it is execrable that he should try piggybacking his social agenda onto innocent cartoon characters and their innocent creators.

But the Times, intentionally or not, appears to be guilty of the same thing. Deliberately or not, it appears to have twisted Dobson's position and imputed to him (without evidence) an argument he does not seem to have made. And in making SpongeBob sound like a martyr, it appears to be trying to piggyback a rival agenda onto his very thin shoulders: Save SpongeBob from the bluenoses!

Cartoons don't deserve this. SpongeBob doesn't deserve this. And SpongeBob's creator, Stephen Hillenburg, certainly doesn't deserve to have his creation kidnapped and turned into a giant puppet in some freak protest parade, no matter what its cause.

To Dobson and the Times I've a simple message: Get your hands out of SpongeBob's square pants.

Update: Dobson's organization has released a statement on the controversy.

[annyokie]

I have a hard time taking Dobson seriously. He's a Christer with an agenda. He gives no quarter to those who disagree with him, and I don't like his views on child-rearing.

That said, I am looking forward to his chat with Tony Snow and I do believe he does good work. I'll listen in.

[annyokie]

Hi, nightshift. I believe you are correct. I get ticked at those on this forum, and they know who they are, who want to prentend that we who do not homeschool don't love our children.

[SweetCaroline]

THANKS, you read my mind!!!

BUMP

[jwalsh07]

This is from the recommendations list or the We Are Family group:

"Meet with school and community librarians and local bookstores to discuss ways to highlight literature that is representative of all cultures and sexual orientations."

Any more questions on whether their agenda includes pushing sexual politics in public schools?

[annyokie]

Not in my kids' Public Schools. All those who wish to blast on Public School and praise Private Schools don't know what they are talking about. Been there, done that in three different states.

Private Schools hire the lesser of the least. You can take that to the bank.

[DaveDCMetro]

But...the film has nothing to do with sexual orientation. It doesn't. It just doesn't. I've read like five articles on it, and they all say the same thing. The only connection between the film and gay people is that the organization that's distributing the film has a mission statement to promote diversity and tolerance based on categories like "race, creed, sexual orientation" and so forth. You can disagree with the statement, fine. And you can certainly disagree if the film tried to incorporate anything about sexual orientation. But from all the reports I've read, there is nothing in the film about it.

So I guess what I'm trying to understand is --- and everyone, feel free to enlighten me --- what's the big deal? Why is everyone so upset on this thread about the film and/or SpongeBob?

[EdReform]

Thanks. People simply do not understand how dangerous these homosexual organizations are. GLSEN, et al are now targeting elementary school children extensively.

Programs such as this We Are Family and No Name Calling Week seem innocent on the surface - how can anyone be against 'tolerance' and 'no name calling'? However, make no mistake, these programs are a ruse. Kevin Jennings and his cohorts are masters at framing these issues so that they sound sweet and innocent.

More documentation posted here.

[nicmarlo]

As always, your post is informative. Thanks for the ping.

[Corin Stormhands]

This is from the recommendations list or the We Are Family group:

There are two "We Are Family" organizations. I do not believe this is the one promoting the video.

[jwalsh07]

Dave, Sponge Bob is a tool used to advance an agenda surreptitiously that were it offered openly it would be rejected out of hand. Dobson doesn't use cartoon characters to advance an agenda to school children, the We Are Family types have no such compunction. You're mad at the wrong guy.

The people you should be pissed at are the ones pushing sexual politics in grammar schools. We, Christian conservatives, simply want that crap out of the grade schools in all shapes and forms.

[annyokie]

What is GLSEN?

[nicmarlo]

Well said, jwalsh. This is exactly the truth and the point.

[jwalsh07]

I have no idea what you are talking about. Like Jefferson, I support public schooling and I am a product of same. What I don't support is sexual politics in public schools pushed by the secular humanists. If you can't distinguish the two positions, there is nothing left to discuss.

[Politicalmom]

Apparently you have either missed or ignored the information included in the teacher's guide, which DOES include a "tolerance pledge.

[DaveDCMetro]

What is it specifically that leads you to believe that this is true? I've been reading about this issue and it appears that both the cartoon show and the school video are free from anything that could be construed as the "gay agenda." Please inform me.

[teldon30]

Best post on this whole topic.

[DaveDCMetro]

I also read that the tolerance pledge wasn't being sent to the schools with the DVDs.

[DaveDCMetro]

Thank you. It's just that I've seen this demagoguery before. And I don't like it.

[jwalsh07]

There are two "We Are Family" organizations. I do not believe this is the one promoting the video.

You believe wrong. I got the recommendations list from the same site offering the DVD.

[EdReform]

The 'Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network.' Documentation and links to information posted here.