Lair Scott and the Petition for Gay Muppets

I suppose it only makes sense to start this by calling out one of my own. In this case Lair Scott and his ill-advised petition to not only have Sesame Street declare Bert and Ernie as gay but to have them marry on the show. This is dumb in so many ways I'm going to need bullet points...

• Bert and Ernie have never been portrayed as gay before, do we really want to encourage the idea that people can become gay? Oh sure, there have been jokes and the occasional attempt to claim them as our own but Bert and Ernie have always been the essence of friends, showing generation after generation of kids how to be a good friend... despite their differences. That is a wonderful thing all by itself and it would be a horrible thing to lose.
• Muppets are pretty lacking in gender and therefore sexuality. Yes, Miss Piggy has a thing for Kermit but even as iconic as that one-sided love affair is they're still not even dating after all these years. So why force sexuality into a place where there isn't any... gay, straight, or otherwise (unless you count Gonzo's rather strong fondness for chickens)?
• Lair's suggestion is that kids need to see gay muppets to help in understanding that being gay is ok and that being a bully is bad... so let me ask a simple question: Which muppet is the black one? There isn't one. But kids still learn from Sesame Street that racism is bad and being different is ok and have been learning that lesson from Sesame Street for decades.

And unfortunately, all this petition has done is garner media attention for a pointless cause and provide ammunition for anti-gay organizations to prove that we're out to convert their kids. Great job, dumbass.

Outcasts, pariahs, and scapegoats

Once upon a time, people lived in small villages where everyone pretty much knew everyone else. And if you did something that was so outside the pale, so unacceptable, that the community couldn't abide it then you were ostracized from your community. Cast out socially if not physically.

I think it's time we bring back the outcasts. When someone speaks out and says something truly horrible while claiming to represent their religion, party, gender, or whatever group, I think it's time to tell them no. It's time to call them out and make sure they understand that that kind of behavior isn't acceptable and that they'll be outcast if they keep it up.

You might not agree with my verdict... good. Go start your own blog and cast me out.