# Nickelodeon special on gay parents: Would you let your kids watch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 18, 2002, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696 "2002-06-18T15:22:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![More\_Cowbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@More\_Cowbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/More_Cowbell)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/221 "2002-06-24T14:54:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JerseyDiamond \* > \*\* > > The stuff you mention is in the OT. We are not bound to the laws in the OT. Jesus freed us from those laws. I am not sure who burned Joan of Arc, but I assure you not all Christians are the same or even believe the same thing. So that has what to do with me? You act as though I am making up some new rules. \*\* You are missing my point. **WV\_Woman** said that morality is not decided on by society but by God and told people to check Leviticus and get back to her. And I did, I pointed out that morality can be and has been dictated by society despite biblical rules and regulations. I also gave two examples of situations where the law that Chistianity was supposedly exempt from was used to persecute individuals and groups of people, just as she was doing. Sadly, she never addressed my point. You can not claim to be exempt from the law and then use it to point out the sinfulness of people who you do not agree with and whose feelings you do not understand. ---
**Author:** ![musicguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@musicguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/musicguy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/222 "2002-06-24T15:01:54Z")
mods, any chance you could fix the coding in my last post? Sorry for the inconvenience. ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/223 "2002-06-24T19:23:47Z")
**Kirkland** , you’re not helping. **MrVisible** , maybe that should be a thread of its own. As far as **Jersey** ’s last post - when I posted thanking her for answering my question, I said I didn’t want to touch the rest of her arguements. This was part of the reason why; I knew she and I disagreed fundamentally on the subject in question. Interestingly, I also almost used a swine analogy. I almost said that the two of us trying to change each other’s minds was like the proverbial porcine vocal instructor. However, as I realized this could be construed as an insult, I chose not to use that analogy. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/224 "2002-06-24T20:38:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by musicguy \* > **She can say that she is nice to everyone equally and teaches her daughter to do the same but if this thread is any example, she does not try to be nice to everone _equally_. I would imagine she lets her kids go to everyones house except gay people. She considers gay people to be sinners without even knowing if they have had sex and that is the sinful part, right?** Would you feel the same way if the neighbors were militant terrorists? Or bank robbers? After all, the bank robbers don’t believe they’re doing anything wrong, it’s just a living. And the terrorists, well, their god tells them to blow up shopping malls and kill as many of the infidels as they can, so they believe they’re morally right too. But I don’t approve of their morals and values, no matter how convinced they are in their own minds that nothing is wrong. Since I don’t want my child learning their values or believing that they are ok, I wouldn’t let my child hang out in a gay household. No hate present at all, only concern for what my child is learning. When children are old enough to have learned what the parent has to teach them, they are free to be friends with whomever they choose. Example - if I had a 15 year old son or daughter who had a gay friend, fine. They’re old enough to make more-or-less informed decisions and not to be as impressionable as a young child. > [@](#): > > **And I never said that God thinks its ok. I would highly doubt God thinks that people judging other people is ok. If he exists, I’m sure he can take care of things just fine without a bunch of “helpers”.** Sorry, let me re type that with grouping symbols, since I guess I was a little ambiguous: You said [she’s teaching her daughter to ( be hateful to people and God says it’s ok.)] In other words, putting words in her mouth, then arguing against them. > [@](#): > > **Discrimination is hateful.** Discrimination is no such thing. Discrimination is making a choice. We all discriminate every day. My (and Jerseydiamond’s and WV\_Woman’s) choice is to raise my children myself, without input from TV or gay-activists, and with my values (which include being nice to people, but not necessarily accepting their values). > [@](#): > > **When these Traditional Family Values types tell people that this show is teaching sodomy to our youth, am I supposed to sit back and go “well, they mean well”. This show had nothing at all to do with sex and didn’t even say that people should be nice to gay people. All the message said was that kids of gay parents get picked on a lot and they shouldn’t. And 50,000 “christians” did not want that message on tv.** You’re missing a couple of subtle points. [ul][li]Gay people show up in force to protest shows they don’t approve of (do a search of the archives for ‘schlessinger’ if you don’t believe me). But then they’re real quick to bitch and moan if Christians do the same thing.[/li][li]TV Stations run on our dollars (indirectly). If a show on tv sucks, we get to have it pulled by telling them we don’t watch it and by not frequenting the companies that advertise during that show. If we don’t like what a show says, we get to do the same thing. If enough people don’t like what a station is doing, the station will either respond, or lose money.[/li][li]That kind of value judgement (who you should be nice to and what you are supposed to think) doesn’t belong on children’s tv or in slots where children are likely to be watching. It is the domain of the parents to teach morals to their own children, and nobody else’s business.[/ul][/li] > [@](#): > > \*\*Who’s the “thought police”? If more Christians held the views of people like **dreamer** , there would be no animosity. \*\* “If everybody thought like I do, there would be no problem.” The battle cry of the thought police. You’re not making a strong case here. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/225 "2002-06-24T20:55:47Z")
Yeah. Right. You compare gays to militant terrorists and bank robbers and then blithely say, “No hate present at all . . .” ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/226 "2002-06-24T21:02:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pldennison \* > \*\* > > Actually, **not once** in the entire Bible is the issue of woman-woman sex mentioned. Not once. > > Adding to God’s wod is a sin, you know. \*\* Actually, it is mentioned, and in the same condemnatory fashion as male homosexual behavior. > [@](#): > > Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. **Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.** In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. > > - Romans 1:26-27 Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/227 "2002-06-24T21:07:05Z")
And to return to the OP, is it wrong for a group of private citizens to bring pressure to bear on a cable network to try to prevent them from running shows advocating positions with which they disagree? Always? Or does it depend on the positions? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/228 "2002-06-24T21:09:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Would you feel the same way if the neighbors were militant terrorists? Or bank robbers? After all, the bank robbers don’t believe they’re doing anything wrong, it’s just a living. And the terrorists, well, their god tells them to blow up shopping malls and kill as many of the infidels as they can, so they believe they’re morally right too. The point you’re missing is that bank robbers and terrorists wish to harm others; gay people wish not to be harmed and to be treated as human beings. > [@](#): > > But I don’t approve of their morals and values, no matter how convinced they are in their own minds that nothing is wrong. Since I don’t want my child learning their values or believing that they are ok, I wouldn’t let my child hang out in a gay household. I don’t understand. What morals and values do you object to? My SO and I are good, moral people. We vote, we pay taxes, we recycle. We’re good neighbors and good friends. We both work hard, we don’t do drugs or hang out at clubs, and we lead normal, boring, suburban middle class lives. The only difference between us and any other couple is that my SO and I are both male. That you think that simple fact is harmful to children is grossly insulting and hurtful. As for your bulleted points: [ul] [li]I disapprove of _a priori_ censorship. I detest Dr. Laura and all she stands for, but I opposed the GLAAD protests because I believe in the power of the free market to test ideas.[/li][li]Again, the power of the free market. [/li][li]Nobody is teaching your kids morals. One TV show cannot possibly be a threat to your parenting. It’s just presenting the idea that hating kids with gay parents is wrong. Even if your church teaches that homosexuality is sinful, you still cannot disagree with the proposition that nobody deserves to be harmed or persecuted because they are different or come from non-standard families. [/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/229 "2002-06-24T21:09:48Z")
Most gay people didn’t protest Dr. Laura, just as _most_ Christians didn’t protest the Nickelodeon show. Those who protested were ignorant fucks, arguing against something they hadn’t even seen. You compare homosexuals to bank robbers and terrorists, surely you can see a difference. Let me spell it out for you- bank robbers hurt people, terrorists hurt people, homosexuals don’t hurt anyone. You call us the thought gestapo, and put on your “poor persecuted Christian act”. When was the last time you were beaten for going to church? When was the last time you lost your job because somebody found out you’re a Christian? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/230 "2002-06-24T21:34:20Z")
Thanks, **Gobear**. I take a fairly similar stance. For the record, the Bible is replete with people who were determined to enforce what they understood to be God’s Law on their fellow men, and who felt superior to and avoided associating with those who did not follow it in the exact manner as they did. And who claimed they knew exactly what was going on in the heart and mind of the sinners around them. And when the Man Who most Christians claim to be God Incarnate as a Man on Earth, acting to forgive those around Him whom He saw sinning, showed up, of course he called these people to himself, right? No, not exactly. > [@](#): > > 9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He \*said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him. 10 Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining {at the table} in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw {this,} they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when Jesus heard {this,} He said, "{It is} not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 13 “But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13) > > 1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say {things} and do not do {them.} 4 "They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with {so much as} a finger. 5 "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels {of their garments.} 6 "They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. 8 "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 "Do not call {anyone} on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 "Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, {that is,} Christ. 11 "But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. > > 13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 ["Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.] 15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 16 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, {that} is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ 17 "You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 "And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, {that} is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ 19 "You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? 20 "Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears {both} by the altar and by everything on it. 21 "And whoever swears by the temple, swears {both} by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. 22 "And whoever swears by heaven, swears {both} by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it. 23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 "You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. 27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 "So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been {living} in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in {shedding} the blood of the prophets.’ 31 "So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 "Fill up, then, the measure {of the guilt} of your fathers. 33 "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? (Matthew 23:1-33) **Jersey, Joe** , and **WV Woman** , I regret strongly feeling compelled to make this comment to you – and I ask you to believe me when I say that it is not of my own will that I do so, but I feel compelled to quote to you, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, you have done it unto Me.” In the name of our mutual Lord, I beg of you not to hold that as a snide remark from me, but as something I was told to post (and you know from where) and pray about it before answering my post. ---
**Author:** ![QueenAl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/d26b3c/32.png) [@QueenAl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QueenAl)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/231 "2002-06-24T22:01:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joe\_Cool \* > \*\* > > Would you feel the same way if the neighbors were militant terrorists? Or bank robbers? After all, the bank robbers don’t believe they’re doing anything wrong, it’s just a living. And the terrorists, well, their god tells them to blow up shopping malls and kill as many of the infidels as they can, so they believe they’re morally right too. You are seriously equating me with a bank robber and a terrorist. Me specifically, because I’m a lesbian parent. This is not in the abstract: to you, I am as bad as a terrorist. Personally, I wouldn’t send my child to the home of militant terrorists because my child might be in physical danger - and of course, if I knew I was living next to door to militant terrorists I’d call the police. If my daughter was friends with the child of bank robbers - well, why should I discriminate against that child? (I can’t believe I’m actually debating this issue). > [@](#): > > But I don’t approve of their morals and values, no matter how convinced they are in their own minds that nothing is wrong. Since I don’t want my child learning their values or believing that they are ok, I wouldn’t let my child hang out in a gay household. Hmm. I don’t have a partner, but if I did, I probably wouldn’t make out on the couch in front of my kids or their friends (same goes for if I were straight). Like I said, I don’t leave sex toys lying around. So what makes mine a gay household? A preponderance of pink? Barbara Streisand on the CD player? (Neither of which applies to my house anyway). You don’t approve of my morals and values - even though, aside from my sexuality, you know nothing about me. So you disapprove of me, not because of what I would do in front of your child, or tell your child, but because of what I am. Being gay has little to do with morals and values. It has to do with who you love. [Not commenting on the issue of ‘gay people protesting shows’ because I don’t know enough about it, and am not involved enough in it to want to find out, being in a different country]. [quote] [li]That kind of value judgement (who you should be nice to and what you are supposed to think) doesn’t belong on children’s tv or in slots where children are likely to be watching. It is the domain of the parents to teach morals to their own children, and nobody else’s business.[/li][/quote] [/list] See, I have completely the opposite point of view. The idea that children should have no moral input from anyone other than their parents gives me the heebie-jeebies. Such a one-track system of morals is what creates bigots and zealots (not suggesting you are either of those). I don’t believe in God, but I have read my daughter Bible stories, and I’ll discuss religion, etc with her when she’s older. She can make her own mind up. I’m not so insecure in my principles and ideals that I have to protect her from everyone else’s; are you? ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/232 "2002-06-24T22:12:03Z")
Question- If I understand the argument correctly, the issue is that certain people don’t want their children ‘subjected’ to/exposed to gay folks, since they feel that homosexuality is a sin. If I further understand the position, all sin is the same in the eyes of the Lord, as evidenced by the whole “terrorist=gay=bank robber” thing. If this is the case, then why does anyone allow their children to go anywhere and interact with anyone? Since of course all people are fallible, all sinners. Wouldn’t they be ‘subjected to/exposed to’ all of those other sins as well? SO, why does homosexuality get singled out for “cannot expose our kids to this”, when all people are sinners and all sins are equal in the eyes of the Lord? Is it perhaps that **humans** have designated certain sins to be more repulsive (obviously in their own eyes since it’s already been established that it isn’t in the eyes of the Lord)? Or is it that in the case of homosexuality, the fear is that the parenting abilities will not be enough to ‘counteract’ what is considered to be a ‘sinful behavior’ example? ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/233 "2002-06-24T22:28:59Z")
'Cause it’s **icky!** ( :rolleyes: ) Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/234 "2002-06-24T22:38:18Z")
Joe\_Cool: > [@](#): > > Would you feel the same way if the neighbors were militant terrorists? Or bank robbers? After all, the bank robbers don’t believe they’re doing anything wrong, it’s just a living. And the terrorists, well, their god tells them to blow up shopping malls and kill as many of the infidels as they can, so they believe they’re morally right too. Wow, when I first read this I thought it was directed the other way- making the analogy “their god tells them to [promote ignorance and “protect” their children from the evil gays], so they believe they’re morally right too.” Although it’s agreed that crashing planes is not true Islamic doctrine, the guys who did it do beleive that. They were taught that Americans were evil and that violent tactics were called for by their god against America. Ans this view was upheld in their communities, and they were sheilded from other input. So let’s see, a child is raised with a potentially dangerous and ignorant beleif system, is shielded from opposing views, and grows up to take action based on that beleif. I’m sorry to use the clichéd terrorist angle, but it seems appropriate. Kids are raised with the belief that gays are evil, no one is allowed to impress upon then that that may not be the case, and the later in life they beat some guy up because he’s a “fag.” I don’t mean to say that anti-gay folks are equivalent to active terrorists. But both mindsets can end up in very real terror and very real death, neither of which, methinks, God would approve of. You can’t raise a kid saying “Stay away from \_\_\_ people,” all the while hampering exposure to the ideas those \_\_\_s and then not expect them to had a well-rooted fear and/or hatred of \_\_\_s, and some of them _will_ act upon it. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/235 "2002-06-24T22:46:12Z")
You know, **wring** , that’s an excellent point. And there is a lot more television programming that features bank robbers and terrorists than programming that features gay people. So, why does the Nickelodeon special deserve a boycott, but _Ocean’s Eleven_ doesn’t? ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/236 "2002-06-24T22:55:25Z")
me: > [@](#): > > I don’t mean to say that anti-gay folks are equivalent to active terrorists. After some thinking, I retract this. The only difference seem to be the tactics used and the size of the death toll. ---
**Author:** ![Kirkland1244](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kirkland1244](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kirkland1244)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/237 "2002-06-24T23:15:39Z")
jjtm, if you don’t mean to say it, I will: The anti-gay activists are in their actions and reasoning no different than the terrorists. And they deserve to be treated exactly the same as any member of Al Qaida. Muslim fanatics use planes. Baptist fanatics use baseball bats. Either way its just an instrument used to kill whomever their Mythical Sky Pixie says to slaughter. ---
**Author:** ![musicguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@musicguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/musicguy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/238 "2002-06-25T00:43:18Z")
Ya know, others have already said what I would say in a much better way and probably nicer too. I just want to touch on a few points… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joe\_Cool \* > > You’re missing a couple of subtle points. > [ul][li]Gay people show up in force to protest shows they don’t approve of (do a search of the archives for ‘schlessinger’ if you don’t believe me). But then they’re real quick to bitch and moan if Christians do the same thing.[/li] “Gay people” is a generalization. I have never protested any show being aired. I’ll even watch a show put on by the KKK because I think that it is important for people to be able to have a voice _even_ if I don’t agree with it. You know, that First Amendment thing. > [@](#): > > [li]That kind of value judgement (who you should be nice to and what you are supposed to think) doesn’t belong on children’s tv or in slots where children are likely to be watching. It is the domain of the parents to teach morals to their own children, and nobody else’s business.[/ul][/li] But I see shows with Christian values on around the clock. Again, I don’t mind them being there but why are your values just fine to teach impressionable children on TV yet you assume that I am going to send them on a one-way trip to hell because they visit my house? > [@](#): > > “If everybody thought like I do, there would be no problem.” > The battle cry of the thought police. You’re not making a strong case here. Talk about taking something out of context. I said "If there were more people like **dreamer** , there would be no problem. I wasn’t referring to me. I know **dreamer** , she is a wonderful friend, even though I am gay and even though she is a Christian. The fact is that I know more Christians like her than like you. I think they are wonderful people. Probably because they have never equated me to a terrorist like you were so eager to do. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/239 "2002-06-25T02:49:42Z")
Would you all feel better if my comparison was to lawyers and stock brokers? The point is that the Bible says it’s a sin. So I compared it to other sins where the people might not think they’re doing anything wrong. Gobear, the moral value I disagree with is purely that you’re both male. I respect you, I see that you’re very even-tempered and intelligent. You seem like a good guy, but we disagree on what I consider to be an important thing, which I wouldn’t want my young child to be exposed to until she has had a grounding in the beliefs and morals I choose to teach her. I certainly have not taught her to be mean or abusive to anybody, based on anything. To be honest, I don’t label people. I don’t see you as “that gay guy”. You’re just this guy. A guy who happens to be intelligent and add interesting things to discussions, but just a guy. I don’t see BLACK people, GAY people, TALL people, FAT people, JEWISH people, RICH people, etc. Just people. Even when it comes to people who have gotten under my skin: I don’t see that GAY jerk, just that jerk. If people choose to define themselves by a single trait, then that’s their own problem, not mine. And that is one of the values I intend to pass on. I do, however, judge people’s actions and beliefs according to mine. If a person is doing something that I feel my child should not be exposed to, then she won’t. Period. That doesn’t mean I think they’re bad people. It doesn’t mean I tell her to throw rocks at them or that I beat them up when I get the chance. It means that I’m taking responsibility for raising a child the way I think sheh should be raised, and that’s it. Reading more into it and telling me what a hateful person I am just makes the discussion unpleasant and gets us all warned by the moderators. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696/240 "2002-06-25T03:07:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Gobear, the moral value I disagree with is purely that you’re both male. I respect you, I see that you’re very even-tempered and intelligent. You seem like a good guy, but we disagree on what I consider to be an important thing, which I wouldn’t want my young child to be exposed to until she has had a grounding in the beliefs and morals I choose to teach her. I certainly have not taught her to be mean or abusive to anybody, based on anything. But, I still don’t see that gender has any moral weight, let alone sexual orientation. The gender of one’s mate has no moral dimension; you might as well call people immoral because they have green eyes or write lefthanded. Sexual orientation is innate; nobody chooses to be gay or straight. Think about it. Every gay person in existence is the product of a heterosexual union, brought up in a world where heterosexuality is the norm, where straying from hererosexuality is punished, and STILL people turn out gay. Your child could be exposed to gay people, hang out with them 24/7, and she/he would still be hetero as the day is long. Homosexuality is not contagious, but I’d like to think that tolerance, compassion, and understanding are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickelodeon-special-on-gay-parents-would-you-let-your-kids-watch/114696.md?page=13)