Change.org Petition Demands Legal Gay Marriage For Ernie and Bert

[Gralian]

Well for one thing, God doesn't exist, so it didn't come from anywhere. But on the other hand maybe you shouldn't bring up religion in a topic about puppets -_-

Great argument, really. "God doesn't exist and despite that being a debate since time immemorial, i am right and you are wrong so your argument is invalid!"

I'm atheist myself, but that doesn't bloody well give you the right to speak your opinion as fact.

I was using the "Where did God come from?" debate as an analogy to compare to the "Where did the puppets come from?" debate within the Sesame Street universe. I'm not trying to hijack the thread with religion. I'm not trying to start a debate about God. Stop being so defensive and get over yourself.

Edit: And frankly, if you're worried about someone "bringing religion in a topic about puppets", what about the entire topic itself? Bringing sexuality up in a topic about puppets? Big boy issues for big boy topics, i'm afraid. You don't get the right to pick and choose.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Yes lets have a gay marriage that would only involve first teaching kids about sex and then the types of sexual orientation first. I'm sure parents wouldn't be upset about that at all.

Sesame Street already teaches kids to respect those who are different it does not and arguably should not address the issues of sex or anything relating to it. Therefor it's really impossible address sexual orientation since they can't actually say anything about it. Sure you could marry them but I doubt if kids would get it since you can't explain why its important but the fact that no other set of characters has ever been married (as far as I know) means that there is no precedent for it. It's just not an issue they cover.

 

[Formica Archonis]

Have we run out of facepalms yet? I'd like one right now.

Really, this is like asking a scriptwriter of any TV show to make your favorite slash pairing canon. Except dumber.

 

[torzath]

Yes lets have a gay marriage that would only involve first teaching kids about sex and then the types of sexual orientation first. I'm sure parents wouldn't be upset about that at all.

As I've already said, I don't think Bert and Ernie should be married, but teaching kids about marriage isn't necessarily sexual. For example, most kids of the Sesame Street age don't know about sex, but they do already know that people get married.
A simple "Sometimes men and women get married, and sometimes two women get married, and sometimes two men get married" would be the extent of the explanation for Sesame Street's age group.

 

[Wrds]

I always thought the bert and ernie joke was just that, a joke. There is absolutely no sexuality of any kind in sesame street, not that I know of anyways. And quite frankly I don't want to have to explain it to my two year old niece while I'm babysitting her. She can barely count, let alone understand diversity and sexuality. Mommy is mommy and daddy is daddy, that's all that really matters at this stage.(Althoug she does have three grandmothers, and that's not because someone got divorced and remarried)

There's a time and place for everything, and this is neither.

 

[Lunepyre]

Hahahahaha.

Yeah, that's a little nuts, guy.

If you want to actually do something important, try this.

http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-deportation-of-anthony-john-makk-and-stop-defending-doma

 

[lacktheknack]

As silly as I kinda think this is, I have to question the Sesame Street comment: If puppets have no sexuality, where did Bert and Ernie come from?

EH

When a mommy and a daddy love each other very much, and the go on a date to the local puppet factory to take a stitching class, they make things.

 

[Lyri]

Dear Gays.

Leave stuff alone, please.
Yes they are two men who live in the same place and they are friends, wanting them to suddenly be gay for your own agenda is no better than us saying "Lolfags".

Sincerely.
The straight folks.

 

[Amondren]

Petitions like this are stupid let the creators choose who they are. I always saw them as friends never as gay I still don't I still see them as just good friends who are roommates who help children learn that having friends is good.

 

[torzath]

Hahahahaha.

Yeah, that's a little nuts, guy.

If you want to actually do something important, try this.

http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-deportation-of-anthony-john-makk-and-stop-defending-doma

Or go do something in person, since the vast majority of online petitions don't do crap.

 

[DarkRyter]

I thought they were brothers.

 

[amadhatter]

Roommates? I thought Bert was just taking care of a mentally handicapped guy.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Yes lets have a gay marriage that would only involve first teaching kids about sex and then the types of sexual orientation first. I'm sure parents wouldn't be upset about that at all.

As I've already said, I don't think Bert and Ernie should be married, but teaching kids about marriage isn't necessarily sexual. For example, most kids of the Sesame Street age don't know about sex, but they do already know that people get married.
A simple "Sometimes men and women get married, and sometimes two women get married, and sometimes two men get married" would be the extent of the explanation for Sesame Street's age group.

Yeah I thought about that and if the show featured marriages then it'd be cool to have one with two men rather then a man and a woman. Unfortunately, they have never had a marriage on show with any of the characters as far as I know so it would still be sudden and odd to have any sort of marriage.

 

[Hertzey]

Why should they have a gay marriage when none (as far as I can remember) of the other characters are married in a straight marriage? Also, none of the characters (again, as far as I can remember) show any signs of romantic or sexual attraction at all, so why is it that Bert and Ernie should be an exception?

Actually Luis and Maria (owners of the Fix-It Shop) are married and had a child (who is also on the show) I remember watching them during Maria pregnancy, I don't remember them getting married, or if they were married before entering the show.

I agree with most on this thread, Bert and Ernie are a great example of how two people who are different can life together. I would sometimes wondered if they were brothers (I have siblings of my own and we would fight just like they would). Making them gay and having them get married would be like re-writing the last 20 years of their history. Not to mention it would psych up the homophobes who started the idea that Bert and Ernie were gay in the first place.

If you want a homosexual character in something like Sesame Street, a. it should be one of the humans (the puppets are great, but if it a human it brings in the realness of it), b. be a new character, or even better a new family (less panic from us old time viewers, and they can all work through the issues together) and c. have the same acceptance that everyone else has. True Sesame Street does not have a lot of romantic plot, but it talks about issues that kids face in real life. I've seen episodes about fires, having a baby, death of a beloved elder and more. I would be very interested if they decided to do anything with the subject.

... and I'm off my soap box.

 

[The Shade]

If puppets have no sexuality, where did Bert and Ernie come from?

Jim Henson, I'd assume.

-----------

OT: I'm gonna go with Sesame Street on this one. Not everything has to be reduced to a fight for gay rights. Some things should just stay puppets.
Also, what you are proving by "outing" Bert & Ernie? What does that tell the children? "Gay people exist. Half of them are annoying and the other half are grumpy." Good message there, buddy.

Try to propagandize through children's shows all you want, but children at that age learn almost all their conditioning and values from their parents/guardians. No matter how gay Bert & Ernie get, kids will still reject it if their parents do.

At that age, is engulfing kids in the fight for gay rights actually getting through? Toddlers don't even have the capability to understand the point of the message. It's like when people tried to explain the concept of "God" to me as a child. I always just pictured Thor from the Marvel comics. (He's a god, right?) They totally miss the point. But that's okay, because five minutes later, they'll be outside licking frogs and trying to ride the dog like it's a horse. Whatever Big Bird told them a moment ago is already gone.

It's a waste of time, effort, and it's actually not helping in the slightest. Not to mention completely changing a beloved childhood show for many people. (Says the guy that can't believe Cookie Monster eats fuckin' vegetables now. Seriously - 'the hell?)

 

[Catalyst6]

While I'm all for equality, this is just silly. What this says to me is not "It's okay to be gay, in fact it's beautiful!", it's "two people living platonically together is not okay in every way, esp. if they are male. They must be gay for each other by law".

I mean, yeah, we joke about them a lot, but that doesn't make them homosexual in a serious sense.

And, of course, we run across the fact that, by drawing attention to the issue, we are making it an issue. By forcing these characters to be what they might not be they are saying "We're not looking for equality, we're looking for representation", which in turn says "We're different and that's not okay".

The best way to handle something like homosexuality is by letting it be a non-issue, in the same way as racism and the like. If no one cares then everyone is equal. Ta-da!

 

[HentMas]

Roommates? I thought Bert was just taking care of a mentally handicapped guy.

THIS, there has never being any kind of sexual intention in either, it has always being about two guys who are friends, a grumpy one and a stupid one, and they TOLERATE the CRAP out of each other, why the hell would they shove sexual preferences into a kids show?? it doesnt make sense!

 

[torzath]

If you want a homosexual character in something like Sesame Street, a. it should be one of the humans (the puppets are great, but if it a human it brings in the realness of it), b. be a new character, or even better a new family (less panic from us old time viewers, and they can all work through the issues together) and c. have the same acceptance that everyone else has. True Sesame Street does not have a lot of romantic plot, but it talks about issues that kids face in real life. I've seen episodes about fires, having a baby, death of a beloved elder and more. I would be very interested if they decided to do anything with the subject.

I would agree that new characters should be introduced, if they do it at all, instead of making such a major change to older characters. Also, it's been years since I've watched the show, so thanks for bringing up the married characters already there.