[quote]haney wrote:
RJ,
You don’t know the half of it!!!
[/quote]
We should compare notes sometime - maybe it would make us feel better if we could laugh at someone elses family for once.
One quick question - has a member of your family ever tried moving his trailerhouse with a front-end loader? With the all of his furniture, and his family inside? And had someone there to video tape it? This is my hell.
Rainjack,
Oh my God, I laughed till my hair hurt.
I have the video.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
Of course Spongebob is asexual - it’s a freakin kids cartoon.[/quote]
And, he’s a sponge. THIS IS NOT REALITY PEOPLE.
I think someone needs to let Sandy know SpongeBob’s not THAT type of sponge… I think she really wants to bed Squidworth and is looking for those banned contraceptives.
I’d be interested in seeing the video in order to to form a more grounded opinion. but from what i understand, the video in question is made by a group that promotes homosexuality and it is a video for young children that promotes tolerance of homosexuality. i’m all for the intentions of the video, there is generally not enough tolerance of homosexuality. but, its a delicate issue with kids, as is everything else mentioned in vroom’s approach. i don’t think it would be appropriate neccessarily to advocate this kind of message to young children, as most of them have formed no opinion whatsoever on it at their age, and it would just have a one-sided arguement affect, especially if it were to cross the line between promoting tolerance, and promoting homosexuality itself, which, in a children’s cartoon, can be a rather thin line. however, something along these lines would probably be great for middle schoolers, especially if accompanied by class discussions. at that age, the children have a better understanding of the issue, have the basic framework for their own opinion, yet are generally open minded enough to take in the message of tolerance. and class discussion would allow the children to discuss their opinion and allow the issue to be discussed more objectively and fairly. that’s my 2 cents anyway.
Spongebob is so well written it hurts!
Funniest episode ever: Mr. Krabs eating the squeaky rubber boots to rid himself of hearing the incessant squeaking ala “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
A Poe reference in a kid’s cartoon? Sheer genius!
Regarding fundamental Christian groups and their beliefs: Everyone needs to believe in something; I believe I’ll have another beer!
[quote]rainjack wrote:
haney wrote:
RJ,
You don’t know the half of it!!!
We should compare notes sometime - maybe it would make us feel better if we could laugh at someone elses family for once.
One quick question - has a member of your family ever tried moving his trailerhouse with a front-end loader? With the all of his furniture, and his family inside? And had someone there to video tape it? This is my hell.
[/quote]
The source of your frustration is now clear! I will question it no longer. Seriously, the visual that produced is pretty damn funny. It should be in the hillbilly hall of fame.
I’m going to post a couple of links that might clear this up a bit.
One of them (waf.org) IS a gay/lesbian support site. However, the homophobe’s comments were directed at the video and the message of tolerance, so I don’t think his comments are the product of a misunderstanding. I just don’t want you guys to get your wires crossed if you decide to “look deeper” like the asshole who thinks that SpongeBob is an evangelist of queerdom.
http://images.t-nation.com/forum_images/./1/.1106369165314.M1342.JPG
[quote]rainjack wrote:
One quick question - has a member of your family ever tried moving his trailerhouse with a front-end loader? With the all of his furniture, and his family inside? And had someone there to video tape it? This is my hell.
[/quote]
That’s one way to, git er’ done! Of course you have to video something like that. That way if anything gets damaged and the insurance company denies the claim, you have proof to refute their accusations that it was caused by stupidity. “Clearly you can see that the balance point suddenly shifted when my wife walked out to the kitchen… which then of course set off the chain reaction. My entire collection of NASCAR collector plates, GONE in the blink of an eye! That damn woman never did listen worth a shit!” : )
On one hand Rain that’s pretty funny… on the hand, I BELIEVE WE’RE COUSINS!! See ya at the barbeque buddy!
As for SpongeBob, of course he’s gay (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Do the religious people always have to spell everything out for you guys… sponges SUCK… AND they’re always CLEANING. The most obvious sign though is the “square pants”… have you ever seen a straight guy wearing square pants? Next we’ll be asked to believe that SpongeBob, living in the VERY SAME OCEAN as SPERM Whales, is all just some cosmic coincidence… sure it is.
If it wasn’t for the religious right pointing these things out to us, we would have no moral compass in which to pass judgment onto others.
Imagine an innocent child growing up NOT wanting to kill all enemys of God, but instead, falls prey to the influence of a gay sponge. The coordinated outfits alone would bankrupt the average American family.
If we could save but one single child from the Satanic grip of laughter, it would all be worth it.
Amen.
JTF: I think you missed something. If SpongeBob was gay, the pants wouldn’t be square… it’d be SpongeBob LeatherPants.
Man what a pack of wankers,christian tolerance ,fucking crock.
Crazy-Ass Southern Baptist Weighs in:
Ooooohhh/
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
Spongebob Squarepants!
Absorbant and yellow and pourous is he!
Spongebob Squarepants!
If nautical nonsense be something ye wish!
Spongebob Squarepants!
Then drop on the deck and flub like a fish!
Spongebob Squarepants!
Ready?!
Spongebob Squarepants! Spongebob Squarepants! Spongebob Squarepants! Sponge-BOB Square-PANTS!
enter Spongebob Squarepants whistling with super-cool nose
Spongebob is one of the top four animated shows ever.
And yes, I count Beavis and Butthead as one of those. Get over it.
Good for you, Vash! I saw the movie last week, and I laughed more than my daughter did. You realize, of course, that now we are both very, very gay. I can’t wait until we have a hit TV show where we tell insecure men how to dress and decorate their houses.
So a gay athiest and a gay southern baptist walk into a bar…
[quote]lothario1132 wrote:
JTF: I think you missed something. If SpongeBob was gay, the pants wouldn’t be square… it’d be SpongeBob LeatherPants.[/quote]
Ha Ha… better yet, SpongeBob SquareLeatherChaps
SpongeBob is a definite favorite at gangbangs. I mean he is covered in holes…
[quote]rainjack wrote:
haney wrote:
RJ,
You don’t know the half of it!!!
We should compare notes sometime - maybe it would make us feel better if we could laugh at someone elses family for once.
One quick question - has a member of your family ever tried moving his trailerhouse with a front-end loader? With the all of his furniture, and his family inside? And had someone there to video tape it? This is my hell.
[/quote]
No, but has your family ever had a Highschool graduation party for their daughter serve alcohol to all the minors, and then start a brawl with all the kids from the school that they invited to their party? What makes this especially good is my aunt (who was also in the fight) was on the PTA!
I must admit that your story is prety good.
I think this just needs a thread all its own!
[quote]ToShinDo wrote:
SpongeBob is a definite favorite at gangbangs. I mean he is covered in holes…[/quote]
I will be honest with you Sponge Bob is not gay! It is mr. crab that is gay!Think about he is always dressed up like I pirate(I think we know what type of pirate). Can you say Role play children?
Does this in any way stop the Steeler’s from winning the super bowl?
Hmm, nope…
No I didn’t think so.
continues not caring
FOr what it’s worth, here is an editorial from Toon Zone, a cartoon website that implies we are falling for the media’s (more precisely, The New York Times’) spin of the situation:
Hands Off SpongeBob!
By Maxie Zeus
01-21-2005, 1:11 AM
First they came for the Teletubbies and I did nothing, because I hate mewling horribles who live in Orwellian romper rooms. But then they came for SpongeBob SquarePants. Now it’s time to march.
That’s the reaction a lot of people–not all of them cartoon fans–seem to have had when The New York Times on Thursday reported that James Dobson had criticized Nickelodeon’s cheerful yellow sponge for appearing in a video promoting tolerance. The problem, apparently, is that the kind of tolerance being promoted would extend to (among others) people who are gay.
People who read the Times account weren’t very happy with Dobson. Over dinner, for instance, my sister laid it on the table with the off-hand remark, “I see that now they’re attacking SpongeBob for being gay.” “They” are not one of her favorite groups. Nor one of mine.
At Toon Zone, we haven’t followed this story with focused interest. But I have watched, with a mounting dread, as each piece of the current controversy started to fall into place. Last November we reported on the video now being criticized ( http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=126806 ).
We reported, too, when the attacks started earlier this month ( http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=130695 ).
And on Thursday we duly carried a summary and link to the Times article ( http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=875 )(registration required; here is a hassle-free copy http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/208642_spongebob20.html ).
So I’m not exactly surprised to see this break out into the wider world. While posting the earlier articles I could be heard silently muttering to myself: “3? 2? 1? Make controversy go now!” Complaints that cartoons are corrupting our kids are about as bewhiskered as the Bugs Bunny in a dress gag. This kind of hysteria makes me very tired, both because it’s very silly and also very old.
At the same time, let’s remember that it’s The New York Times we’re dealing with. These days it helps to have an advanced degree in Kremlinology while perusing their articles.
Look at the Times opening grafs:
[Begin NYT excerpt] On the heels of electoral victories to bar same-sex marriage, some influential conservative Christian groups are turning their attention to a new target: SpongeBob SquarePants.
“Does anybody here know SpongeBob?” James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, asked the guests Tuesday night at a black-tie dinner for members of Congress and political allies to celebrate the election results.
In many circles, SpongeBob needs no introduction. He is popular among children and grownups as well who watch him cavorting under the sea on the Nickelodeon cartoon program that bears his name. In addition, he has become a camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds hands with his animated sidekick Patrick.
Now, Dobson said, SpongeBob’s creators had enlisted him in a “pro-homosexual video,” in which he appeared alongside other children’s television characters such as Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. [End NYT excerpt]
Compare it with this summary from Reuters:
[Begin Reuters excerpt] Christian Conservative groups have issued a gay alert warning over a children's video starring SpongeBob SquarePants, Barney and a host of other cartoon favorites.
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. [End Reuters excerpt]
Notice the difference?
The Times: Several conservative Christian groups are criticizing SpongeBob SquarePants for appearing in a video that they claim promotes homosexuality. (Those are the words of our reporter Ace the Bathound.)
Reuters: Christian groups are criticizing a video that exploits cartoon characters to advance a pro-gay agenda.
As Reuters describes it, Christian groups are attacking a video; the various cartoon characters and entertainers who appear in it are being criticized indirectly (if at all) for lending themselves to an agenda that these critics deplore. As the Times describes it, though, these groups are specifically attacking SpongeBob. And by sticking in an early and gratuitous reference to SpongeBob’s popularity with gay men (a point utterly irrelevant to a story about the video), the Times creates the impression that Dobson is attacking SpongeBob for being a gay icon. No wonder a casual reader comes away with the impression that Dobson is attacking SpongeBob for being gay.
In fact, if you read the Times article carefully you’ll see that it adds nothing to the story carried by WorldNetDaily two weeks ago ( http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42253 ), except for some innuendo about a popular cartoon character. (Reuters’ more pellucid summary makes clear that the story hasn’t advanced in the last two weeks.) Of course, I don’t know for sure: maybe Dobson went off on an anti-gay tirade in which he mocked SpongeBob for his cheerfulness, his tendency to skip and sing, and his fondness for holding hands with his best friend Patrick. But if so, why is the only Dobson quote in the Times the colorless “Does anybody here know SpongeBob?”
I’m not interested in the “gay” angle to SpongeBob, and as an editor and reporter on this site I have no interest in gay marriage, gay rights or any of the other social controversies that so exercise Dobson. I think Dobson and his allies are very foolish to treat what sounds like a bland grammar-school video as a threat to American values; I think it is execrable that he should try piggybacking his social agenda onto innocent cartoon characters and their innocent creators.
But the Times, intentionally or not, appears to be guilty of the same thing. Deliberately or not, it appears to have twisted Dobson’s position and imputed to him (without evidence) an argument he does not seem to have made. And in making SpongeBob sound like a martyr, it appears to be trying to piggyback a rival agenda onto his very thin shoulders: Save SpongeBob from the bluenoses!
Cartoons don’t deserve this. SpongeBob doesn’t deserve this. And SpongeBob’s creator, Stephen Hillenburg, certainly doesn’t deserve to have his creation kidnapped and turned into a giant puppet in some freak protest parade, no matter what its cause.
To Dobson and the Times I’ve a simple message: Get your hands out of SpongeBob’s square pants.
Update: Dobson’s organization has released a statement on the controversy. ( http://family.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/family.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=17669 )