tdekeyser

<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/17/gay.parents.ap/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/17/gay.parents.ap/index.html</a>

NEW YORK (AP) -- Despite a staggering 100,000 e-mails and phone calls in protest, Nickelodeon will telecast a special for children about same-sex parents on Tuesday night.

The half-hour report, produced by Linda Ellerbee and featuring Rosie O'Donnell, includes comments from the Rev. Jerry Falwell -- who later joined conservative activists in urging Nickelodeon not to air it.

The Washington-based Traditional Values Coalition has spearheaded the campaign against "Nick News Special Edition: My Family is Different," sight unseen. There were so many e-mails Nickelodeon had to set up a separate address to avoid a computer crash.

"It is a cover for promoting homosexuality for kids," said Andrea Lafferty, the coalition's executive director.

Nickelodeon said that's not so. Ellerbee, in the show's introduction, says, "The following program is about tolerance ... It is not about sex. It does not tell you what to think."

Ellerbee, who won a Peabody Award for a Nickelodeon special that delicately dissected the Monica Lewinsky scandal for children, said she conceived of this show upon reading that the word "fag" had become the most common schoolyard epithet.

O'Donnell's public acknowledgement that she is a lesbian put the subject in the news, Ellerbee said.

The program, which airs at 9 p.m. EDT, is largely a discussion. Although it also features a gay school principal and a gay New York City firefighter who is a father of three, children are the focus.

Some children with gay parents talk about feeling uncomfortable about what other kids say in school. Other children discuss their objection to homosexuality.

"It is never a wrong time to talk about hate," Ellerbee said. "It's just not. That's all our show is about. It is not in any way about the homosexual lifestyle. It's not even introducing the subject to most kids. They know. But quite frankly, many of them know it from a hate standpoint without even knowing what they're talking about."

But Lafferty said, "They keep saying it is not about sexuality. It is about sexuality."

Parents are upset because many thought they never had to worry about Nickelodeon's content, she said.

"They have been led to believe that Nick is a safe harbor," she said. "Now they've been exposed. The skirt has been lifted and Nick has been exposed."

Lafferty was asked by Nickelodeon if the Traditional Values Coalition would recommend children to be included in the special. She refused.

Falwell agreed to be interviewed, however, and is quoted expressing his opposition to homosexuality on Christian grounds. He also said it's important to respect other points of view and not react with violence.

He said later, in an interview with The Associated Press, that he is sorry Nickelodeon feels the need to "indoctrinate" children on homosexuality.

"Nickelodeon should stay away from endorsing lifestyles that are generally not accepted by the American public," Falwell said. "It turns a children's network into something parents feel a responsibility to edit and carefully filter."

Asked how he reconciled his participation in the show with a call not to air it, Falwell said, "I've often said I would preach in hell if they promised to let me out."

Ellerbee said she was disappointed by Falwell's later comments.

Most of Ellerbee's Nick News programs air at 8:30 p.m. This show has been pushed back a half hour -- to a time when the network usually runs old sitcoms -- because of its sensitivity, said Herb Scannell, Nickelodeon's chief executive.

Lafferty claimed advertisers wouldn't touch the show; Scannell said the plan was always to be commercial-free. Some other Ellerbee shows, including the Clinton discussion and one about AIDS, also contained no ads.

Scannell said he had no hesitation about airing the special.

"I thought it was in a territory that we've been before, in terms of looking at the world from a kid's point of view," he said. "The whole philosophy of Nick is that it's tough to be a kid in an adult world."

fando

Tuesday night, 9pm EDT, June 18!

seebs

While I guess these "xians" of whom you speak are pissed, and I know a fair number of Christians who are unhappy with this, many of us are enthused to see a serious attempt to teach kids about tolerance.

I have at least one friend who will happily bury you under pages of good, coherent, arguments showing that homosexual sex is sinful, who is firmly in favor of social tolerance of homosexuals. I think this (the tolerance) is the only conclusion genuinely consistent with Christian teachings. I have become convinced that it is possible for Christians to debate whether or not homosexual sex is sinful; it's not an easy issue. However... there is no basis for not tolerating and supporting *people*. Homosexuals are, in our society, the outcasts, the unloved, and the persecuted; it is our *DUTY* to minister to them.

And no, I don't mean "tell them why they're bad". I mean that the way one speaks of "ministering to the sick"; to bring comfort, and aid, when it is needed. That's the Christian duty towards people who suffer.

Groucho

My numerous happy and successful gay friends and acquaintances will be astounded to learn that they are "sick" and "suffering."

tdekeyser

The Cromwell Institute

So, Falwell would preach in hell if Satan promised to let him out afterwards. Does this mark a policy shift for Falwell concerning the Prince of Darkness and [more importantly] Lord of Lies? Considering the influence Falwell thinks the Great Deceiver has on the world, I am very surprised that Falwell has decided to trust Satan on this one.

What a hypocritical, cretinous moron.

Captain Pedantic

I just think it's a shame that whole sections of society have to fight to be given a voice.

What the Christians are worried about is not that the children will catch a dose of the fags, but that the children might take one look at evidence that contradicts the Bible, evidence that shows that homosexuals are not evil agents of Satan, and they might question the whole of the Bible when they realise that there are no absolutes or certainties in cases like this.

A little learning is a dangerous thing.

seebs

I would be astounded to learn of a gay person who is not at least a little peevish about the degree of abuse regularly heaped on gay people. Of course, there are places where this is less of a problem...

seebs

It is only the intolerant people who make them feel persecuted, yes... but the fact is, those intolerant people exist, and gay people *ARE* somewhat persecuted.

Yes, there's some gay people who mostly don't get this problem, and that's great... but I know too many people whose parents are constantly pressuring them to "see these people who can cure you" and bullshit like that, and I really think that the Christian response is to side with these people (the gay ones) against their persecutors. If their other friends and family won't stick up for them, someone else should.

tdekeyser

I can appreciate that seebs. This made me think though......

What is the largest group that persecutes them?

What is the next largest?



Hmmmmm......I think Christians are #1 and stupid people are #2. I'm not bashing, just figuring.