SpongeBob video causes a ruckus
 

Christians issue gay warning on SpongeBob video
Conservative groups criticize maker's 'tolerance pledge'

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Conservative Christian groups accuse the makers of a video starring SpongeBob SquarePants, Barney and a host of other cartoon characters of promoting homosexuality to children.

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.

"A short step beneath the surface reveals that one of the differences being celebrated is homosexuality," wrote Ed Vitagliano in an article for the American Family Association.

The video is a remake of the 1979 hit song "We Are Family" using the voices and images of SpongeBob, Barney, Winnie the Pooh, Bob the Builder, the Rugrats and other TV cartoon characters. It was made by a foundation set up by songwriter Nile Rodgers after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in an effort to promote healing.

Christian groups however have taken exception to the tolerance pledge on the foundation's Web site, which asks people to respect the sexual identity of others along with their abilities, beliefs, culture and race.

"Their inclusion of the reference to 'sexual identity" within their 'tolerance pledge' is not only unnecessary, but it crosses a moral line," James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, said in a statement released Thursday.

Rodgers said he was astounded by the attack.

"That is so myopic and harsh," he told Reuters. "You have really got to look hard to find anything in this that is offensive to anyone. The last thing I am going to do is taint these characters."

Dobson was quoted by the New York Times on Thursday as having singled out the wildly popular SpongeBob during remarks about the video at dinner this week in Washington, D.C.

SpongeBob, who lives in a pineapple under the sea, was "outed" by the U.S. media in 2002 after reports that the TV show and its merchandise are popular with gays. His creator, Stephen Hillenburg, said at the time that though SpongeBob was an oddball, he thought of all the characters in the show as asexual.

It is not the first time that children's TV favorites have come under the critical spotlight of the Christian right. In 1999, the Rev. Jerry Falwell described Tinky Winky, the purse-toting purple Teletubbie, as a gay role model.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/0...eut/index.html

a$$holes :rolleyes:

Note: I realize not all Christians are this way or even support these butheads :nod: :cool:

"[B]It is not the first time that children's TV favorites have come under the critical spotlight of the Christian right. In 1999, the Rev. Jerry Falwell described Tinky Winky, the purse-toting purple Teletubbie, as a gay role model."

Ohhhhh Tinky Winky - I think Fallwell was pissed because the name reminded him of his private parts :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: JACKA$$ :laugh:

I keep wondering what else James Dobson could possibly do to offend me more. I can't get over the ridiculous stuff that man says. :mad:

They were talking about this on the radio this morning and saying, "Since when did 'I Love Jesus' also mean 'I Hate Gays?" And that Jesus would probably have accepted and loved homosexuals. :thumbsup:

Seriously - this is getting out of hand....:rolleyes: it's a f**king cartoon character....some people really seem to miss the whole point of "christian love"

Yeah, he thought the character was "Tiny Winky". :laugh:

Honestly... Can someone please tell me why people are so stupid?

If you want to fill your church pews - preach hate :shrug:

This guy and his pathetic ilk know their time proven demonization of homosexuals and other minorities in the past sells and sells well. They assert gay people (and in the past black people and other minorities) are the reason the members of the congregation's lives are so bad, etc. Thus, these minorities are to blame for the woes of man and should be despised. After all, Falwell (sorry Diss :laugh: ) said immediately after 9/11 that gay people and a few others he hates (and there exists no better word for it than hate) were the reason God allowed the US to suffer the concurrent terrorist attack (to be fair, he perfunctorily and later issued an “I was taken out of context” sort of apology when the pressure to do so became too great, i.e. he was losing money and credibility because of it :rolleyes: ) . The more these jerks say crap like this (and it is utter crap because Falwell has no batline to God last I checked :shrug: ) - the more the media unfortunately will quote him. The more the media quotes him, the more power he and his ilk unfortunately are given :shrug:

To me, it is all about the money, power, and fame rush that these people and their malicious rhetoric get. They are addicted to it and piousness is, at best, ancillary - if it exists at all :shrug:

They make me sick to my stomach because they are misusing the teachings of Christ, who by all definitions was a great model to live your life by even if you do not believe in Him - for their own multi level greed. To support my point, I note the four Biblical Gospels as well as the Gnostic Gospels ( http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...ry/pagels.html ) and other material I have read – all contain no evidence Christ ever had this smug “holier than thou - I know what God wants you to do and will tell you for $20” take on humanity that is expressed by Dobson, Falwell, Robertson, and that ilk. Christ was all about leading by example (do unto others, etc. ) , providing information, and people will come to the Faith - His methods were grossly passive when compared to these elitist fools. The Biblical Gospels and the other sources in no way indicate Christ would ever have done anything like this ilk have done and continue to do. A good example of this is the multi-adulterous Jimmy “I HAVE SSIIIIIINNNNNEEEEDDD” Swaggert when he flat out said on 9/12/04:

"I'm trying to find the correct name for it … this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. … I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died”

Though he gave a perfunctory apology for it later (does anyone really think he meant that apology :rolleyes: - it was as hollow as his “I have SIIINNNNEEDDD speech later proved to be ) - his words represented hate – pure and simple – and the adulterer represents, sadly IMO, what many, but thankfully not all, think. I mean could you imagine if women got to kill every man who made an unwelcome advance at them :eek: Moreover, Christ never threatened to kill anyone for looking at Him in the wrong way :rolleyes:

Such is the apparent general state of humanity and certainly the time honored and tested way to exert denominational power over the masses that are too meek to raise their hands against these oligarchs and their grossly false but still loudly touted erudition :mad:

Again, I am not talking about all Christians here - just these people

Disgusting
 

I don't care anymore either way. :wavey: This stuff doesn't bother me anymore.

I just find in amusing - though I just saw the story on MSNBC - and that kind of irked me because the more attention you give these yahoo's the more they'll pull Sh** like this...:mad:

"Christian groups however have taken exception to the tolerance pledge on the foundation's Web site, which asks people to respect the sexual identity of others along with their abilities, beliefs, culture and race."
This part kinda says it all for me. (empasis added)

As a Christian, this makes me so angry and embarassed. Livia, I can say with confidence that Jesus loves an accepts homosexuals.

ME TOOO

What was that line about a rotten apple spoiling a buch of good apples :mad:

Dobson is a loon.

Oh brother...
 

what a stinkin' pile of fly gatterin' ****.

Hey relig-a-tards...It's a cartoon...DUH! Not real ya bible-humpers, Do us all a favor and go chase a few LIVE handgrenades in a minefield!!!!

We need to start taxing them. Then they'll find another racket and stop f*cking with people's heads.

:nod::nod:

How come they never say anything about Robin? Everyone knows he IS gay. ;) :laugh:

Preach it on Brian J.

I think they should all immediately go to Iraq and fight W's holy war that he says God told him was righteous instead of sending the children of other Amercians, a significant portion of which come from the lower end of the socioeconomic level and had less of a choice to go than the so called "elite" :rolleyes: :mad:

Isn't that known as the Apocalypse?

Nah...
 

Apocalypse is my middle name :rolleyes:

Are these the same guys who went after Ernie and Bert on Sesame Street awhile back? (We all know they are gay PUPPETS since they live together.) :rolleyes:

Nah...
 

if that was the case the name would be Inny Winny not Tinky Winky since we all know what a p**sy Rev.(A term I use lightly when describing this asstard) Jerry Flawed-Well is!!!!

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That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.



Its a ****ing kids show........GET A LIFE!!!!

Yeah, I dont think the word censorship program is working on The Ledge..or there just isnt one... :laugh:

Well...
 

****, I've been adding the ** myself...Oh well, What can a person f**king do, right?

OMG! SHUT THE **** UP YOU DAMN RADICAL FREAKS! YOU ALL GIVE GOOD HEARTED CHRISTIANS LIKE ME BAD NAMES! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Ignorance bothers me. How anyone would want to go through life knowing only half (or even less) the story is beyond me. But, as long as they don't make it MY problem by trying to shove their ignorance down my throat, they can think (or not think) whatever they want.

At any rate, I'm beginning to suspect that the extremist Christians and the extreme Right-Wingers are seeing the writing on the wall... their days are numbered and they're panicking. They're grasping at straws, and desperately trying to keep their woefully and laughably outdated views, relevant.

The rest of the world, and even other Christians and Conservatives, have progressed, but these extremists are afraid of change, and they cling desperately to beliefs that linger from the days when the Pilgrims pushed their way into this country.

So... laugh and be merry, my friends. If we weren't making progress and if we weren't winning the good fight, then they wouldn't be so ridiculously desperate. :nod: :)

Now, I'm off to eat dinner... greasy pepperoni pizza! MMMM!
Gimme pizza over a cookie any day! :D :blob2:

You always have the coolest things to say!!!

And - how about pizza - and a cookie for dessert ;)

Ya know...
 

I feel we will see a return to the religious brutality of the Salem witch trials, Where the religious-right-a-tards will try to make us change our beliefs to suit theirs or die...

As the way of the samurai I will GLADLY chose death before dishonor.

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Whoops sorry didnt know we had to bleep.

My apologies


Jimmy

Usually...
 

the system would edit curse words such as f**k...I just do it out of habit.

****ing no way!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

:laugh: :lol: :laugh:

I just do it as a courtesy for those who may object :cool:

Ya know, what bull****. Gimme a break. Next thing I'll know is my far right grandmother down in the Bible belt region will be calling me telling me not to let Sara watch it anymore. If he is gay, so be it. It teaches her tolerance and respect for others.

I'm so sick of this holier-then-thou ****. :distress: