# You laughed when they went after the Teletubbies **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 20, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766 "2005-01-20T19:07:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/1 "2005-01-20T19:07:09Z")
But now they want [Spongebob Squarepants](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/20/politics/20sponge.html?adxnnl=1&8hpib=&adxnnlx=1106247752-uPuy0cK3EI9SkJpPZEuq6w) Its a free registration but here is the gist: "Now, Dr. Dobson said, SpongeBob’s creators had enlisted him in a “pro-homosexual video,” in which he appeared alongside children’s television colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. The makers of the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of elementary schools to promote a “tolerance pledge” that includes tolerance for differences of “sexual identity.” Don’t these knuckleheads have anything better to do with their time? What about helping to feed the poor, build a park, make a model, read a feaking book! Anything to keep their hands and minds occupied and not think about gay people. I have to suffer Dr. Dobson, because I can see his Focus on the Family building from where I work. I would however, officially like to apologize to the rest of the nation that we can’t keep him busier here in Colorado. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/2 "2005-01-20T19:15:28Z")
I for one think Barney and Jimmy Neutron are totally Spongeworthy. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/3 "2005-01-20T19:24:03Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I for one think Barney and Jimmy Neutron are totally Spongeworthy. If you were in reach, you would have been slapped for that. Hard. I should know, I’m the one usually getting slapped for making bad puns. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/4 "2005-01-20T19:24:45Z")
Yeesh. I for one apologize for my family, which thinks Dobson is All That. Oy. And gevalt. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/5 "2005-01-20T19:36:30Z")
I’m sure they’ll go after the [Spongemonkeys](http://www.rathergood.com/moon_song/) next. Those guys are obviously gay! ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/6 "2005-01-20T19:37:18Z")
I read about this on the BBC’s page. Some of it actually had me laughing out loud. I can’t decide which is my favorite part – > [@](#): > > They point to the fact that the WAFF is linked to a pledge being promoted by some liberal groups which includes a recognition of tolerance of sexual identity. OH MY! Actually linked to a… to a… to a _pledge_?! Won’t someone think of the children? Oh. I see Mr. Batura already is. > [@](#): > > “We see the video as an insidious means by which the organisation is manipulating and potentially brainwashing kids,” Paul Batura, a spokesman for Focus on the Family, told the New York Times. I wish I could have seen the facial contortions on Mr. Rodgers’ face as he first realized the video was under attack, then realized > [@](#): > > [t]he groups may have confused his foundation with an unrelated organisation with a similar name that supports gay youth. Oh my. Please don’t apologize. The world needs more humor like this. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/7 "2005-01-20T19:42:15Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’m sure they’ll go after the [Spongemonkeys](http://www.rathergood.com/moon_song/) next. Those guys are obviously gay! _cough_ spongmonkeys _cough_ ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/8 "2005-01-20T19:50:35Z")
> [@](#): > > “We see the video as an insidious means by which the organisation is manipulating and potentially brainwashing kids,” Paul Batura, a spokesman for Focus on the Family, told the New York Times. They don’t like any competition in the brainwashing kids department. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/9 "2005-01-20T19:52:36Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > _cough_ spongmonkeys _cough_ And you’ll probably try to tell me it’s Spongbob Squarpants too, I suppose! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/10 "2005-01-20T20:06:16Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > And you’ll probably try to tell me it’s Spongbob Squarpants too, I suppose! No, no…that’s the new transsexual cartoon character patterned off of the famous Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong… Spongbob Squawpants… ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/11 "2005-01-20T20:11:50Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > I have to suffer Dr. Dobson, because I can see his Focus on the Family building from where I work. That close and you’ve never brought a bazooka to work? Slacker. > [@](#): > > I would however, officially like to apologize to the rest of the nation that we can’t keep him busier here in Colorado. Pshaw. Anything that keeps him out of state is fine by me. Maybe he won’t be able to find his way back. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/12 "2005-01-20T20:15:45Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > _cough_ spongmonkeys _cough_ ::: gives a haughty Episcopalian “Hmmmmph” to **JayJay** ’s comment :::: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/13 "2005-01-20T20:26:01Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > ::: gives a haughty Episcopalian “Hmmmmph” to **JayJay** ’s comment :::: > > 😛 I’m not sure if I whooshed you or not, but they actually are spelled [that way](http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2004/02/02-18-04tdc/02-18-04darts-03.asp). ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/14 "2005-01-20T20:26:09Z")
**This Years Model** wrote “That close and you’ve never brought a bazooka to work? Slacker.” I would but the Air Force Academy frowns on employees bringing on base anything larger than a pocketknife, and they aren’t too sure about those. I just wish the Reverand Doctor Dobson and his ilk would just get their collective minds off buggery. It can’t be healthy thinking about it all the time. Really. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/15 "2005-01-20T20:28:04Z")
And here I thought that SpongeBob was gonna have his best day ever! Are these people on drugs? Now, I will say that Patrick doesn’t do it for me, but Squidward…heh. I could use a tentacle or two! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/16 "2005-01-20T20:47:14Z")
Isn’t this the same schmoe who insisted Mighty Mouse was snorting coke? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/17 "2005-01-20T20:47:32Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > **This Years Model** wrote “That close and you’ve never brought a bazooka to work? Slacker.” > > I would but the Air Force Academy frowns on employees bringing on base anything larger than a pocketknife, and they aren’t too sure about those. You’ve got fighters and bombers at work and you’ve … Never mind. Slacker. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/18 "2005-01-20T20:51:00Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I’m not sure if I whooshed you or not, but they actually are spelled [that way](http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2004/02/02-18-04tdc/02-18-04darts-03.asp). You may already know this, but there’s a retired Episcopalian bishop named John Spong who some holds some mildly (heh) controversial views on Christianity in general. He’s relatively famous, at least as far as Episcopal bishops go… ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/19 "2005-01-20T20:54:04Z")
Eh, I just figure Mr. Dobson and his posse are pissed simply because the Nickelodeon PSA doesn’t urge kids to hunt down homosexuals and hang 'em from the nearest tree. (No burning at the stake, kids – fire is dangerous!) \ I think I’ll go buy my son a boxed set of _Spongebob Squarepants_ DVDs now, just to piss Dobson off further. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766/20 "2005-01-20T20:59:22Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > \*\*I just wish the Reverand Doctor Dobson and his ilk would just get their collective minds off buggery. It can’t be healthy thinking about it all the time. Really. Sez who? 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-laughed-when-they-went-after-the-teletubbies/285766.md?page=2)