Posted on 01/31/2005 5:04:03 PM PST by rhema
James Dobson has a problem with SpongeBob SquarePants. At least that's what the media would have you believe. Since last week, the Focus on the Family chairman has been crucified by the press for supposedly disparaging the beloved cartoon character in a speech he gave in Washington. Several major newspapers have even implied that Dobson believes SpongeBob is gay. Well I know Dobson and my 2-year-old son knows SpongeBob, and nothing could be further from the truth.
I was in the audience at the pre-inaugural dinner during which Dobson allegedly made his anti-SpongeBob remarks. Contrary to the media spin, Dobson didn't attack the Sponge. Instead, he warned that SpongeBob, Barney, Winnie the Pooh, and dozens of other popular children's characters may soon be used (presumably against their will) to promote the normalization of homosexuality in America's public schools.
The characters are featured in a video and educational curriculum that is being distributed to 61,000 schools across the country by the We Are Family Foundation. Reportedly the curriculum and its accompanying teachers' guide will employ SpongeBob and his pals to encourage young children to accept homosexual behavior under the guise of promoting "tolerance."
The We Are Family Foundation claims there is no mention of homosexuality in their materials. But a quick check of their Web site found numerous references to "sexual orientation" and "sexual identity." These include:
• Suggestions on how to persuade school librarians to highlight books that are "representative of all sexual orientations."
• Methods to initiate classroom discussion of "homophobia" and "compulsory heterosexism."
• Instructions on teaching students to construct a "Pyramid of Hate," a diagram illustrating "acts of genocide" that have been committed against individuals due to (among other things) their sexual orientation.
• A section on "appreciating diversity" that encourages kids to consider what might interest them in "other sexual orientations."
(Curiously, a few days after Dobson's speech was mentioned in The New York Times, the We Are Family Foundation's Web site was "sanitized" of most references to sexual orientation, and existing links to the nation's major gay groups were eliminated.)
So what's going on here? Are gay activists really attempting to brainwash our kids under the banner of "tolerance?" There is mounting evidence that they're doing exactly that.
The We Are Family Foundation isn't the only group pushing the acceptance of homosexuality in the public schools. That's the stated goal of the powerful Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN). In a GLSEN workshop entitled "Inclusive Kindergartens," New York teacher and lesbian activist Jaki Williams tells other gay teachers that 5-year-old children are "developing their superego," and "that's when the saturation process needs to begin." To initiate conversation on homosexual issues, Williams has her kindergartners read from an assortment of pro-gay children's books, including Heather Has Two Mommies and One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads.
Some progressive pundits may ask if there is any reason why public schools shouldn't teach kids to accept (or even embrace) homosexuality? Here are four: According to research conducted at Harvard Medical School and cited in the journal Pediatrics, kids who experiment with homosexual behavior are more likely to engage in a variety of other high-risk behaviors. These include marijuana and cocaine use before the age of 13; sexual intercourse before the age of 13; sexual intercourse with four or more partners; and sexual contact against one's will.
Big Media's criticism of Dobson shows once again that they just don't get it - America's parents don't want SpongeBob, Big Bird and Elmo co-opted in an effort to persuade their kids that homosexuality is "normal and natural." Dobson sounded the alarm and now the liberal press is taking him to task. By distorting the facts they are attempting to marginalize him and undermine his influence. Clear-thinking Americans won't buy it - they've trusted Dobson's advice for 27 years and will see through the media's SpongeBob charade.
The news about the two controversial shows comes days after a media uproar over Focus on the Family founder James Dobson's comments about a children's music video featuring SpongeBob SquarePants. In the music video, SpongeBob and other children's characters—such as Arthur, Barney, and Big Bird—sing the popular '70s tune, "We are Family." While the video does not mention homosexuality, the video's distributor, the We Are Family Foundation, has a tolerance pledge on its website that includes "sexual identity." The video is being sent to 61,000 public and private elementary schools nationwide.
Speaking on his radio broadcast Jan. 26, Dobson said he has never had his "words more misrepresented" than they were during the SpongeBob episode. Although Dobson initially was criticizing only the tolerance pledge, some in the media were quoting him as saying SpongeBob is a homosexual.
Since Dobson made the comments, teachers' resources that focused on homosexuality have been removed from the We Are Family Foundation's website, Dobson said.
"Where [the video] is shown, schoolchildren will be left with the impression that their teachers are offering their endorsement of the values and agenda associated with the video's sponsor," Dobson said in a statement. "While some of the goals associated with this organization are noble in nature, their inclusion of the reference to 'sexual identity' within their 'tolerance pledge' is not only unnecessary, but it crosses a moral line."
More info here..
http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0,1703,A=159255&M=200341,00.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1331582/posts
Ping
I'm a lot more concerned about Mr Crab and how he ended up with a whale for a daughter.
The cynicism of the people who would foist their sexual practices off on children is revolting. It is little more than recruitment by buggers for a new crop of underage victims.
booked
Interracial adoption? If so, Mr. Crab had better be prepared for a fusillade of lawsuits from "concerned" liberal watchdog groups.
New York teacher and lesbian activist Jaki Williams tells other gay teachers that 5-year-old children are "developing their superego,"
Wow, Freudian clap-trap still has an audience.
"developing their superego,"
Yes, but can they spell it?
:)
"James Dobson has a problem with SpongeBob SquarePants"
No he doesn't! I've heard him say he doesn't on the radio - his problem is that NARAL is using these TV cartoon characters, which are so familiar to children, to sway the children's view that homosexual activity is NORMAL.
It's not normal activity - and millions of parents would not want this garbage taught to their children in school without the parent's knowledge.
Actually, they do.
Tinky Winky redux.
Created a fetish for Viking lasses?
These are some of the same liberals who cried and moaned about Joe Camel corrupting children.
I saw the news and actually heard about it on the am radio talk fest they have here instead of music. It absolutely amazed me how the MSM picked through what Dr. Dobson actually said and turned into "Christian speaker says Spongebob is gay." Just one more reason not to watch tv. What nonsense. It just goes to show, people are only going to hear what they WANT to hear, not the actual facts. Media bias at its best.
I developed a wish to become a Viking but it morphed into my dreams of becoming a pirate. Today I fly a jolly roger on my pontoon boat.
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