Free speech allows shows like this to be broadcast.

Parents also have the right and duty to monitor what their children watch. Televisions all come with an on/off switch. If parents don't think a program is appropriate for THEIR children they have every right to turn it off.

You don't have a problem with parents doing that in this (or any other) case for their own children, do you?

hey centurion, glad to see you aroind the boards. i want to say i understand the "parents can turn the tv off" arguement as much as anyone. i'm, in fact, a huge proponent of greater parental responsibility. however, i do believe this case is different. the show in question features a short segment, really 5-10 min at the most, in which the character Buster recieves "post cards" from families around the country and then visits those families to see how they live. at any other time the show is a relatively tame and conservative show for little kids that promotes positive behavior towards others. the problem so many parents are having is this lesbian couple comes out of no where and is all of a sudden in the show. it's as if the show suddenly changes for that segment featuring the lesbian couple. personally, my problem with the segment is why even expose kids so young to the straight vs. gay situation we adults have to put up with? why make it an issue? you must realize how many kids are going to see this segment and it be their first exposure to homosexual couples? and you must understand how a parent would be against that? how they would rather inform their child of gay couples on their own time?

i agree with Ms Spellings decision to cut the episode

I, my Wife, and my Daughter whom is 7months old
watch Buster every day just about

ya shes really too young to understand what the heck is going on
but we only get PBS CBS and NBC (have only antenna)

so Buster is definatly more entertaining than those horrible soap operas

so we get our little girl to watch the show with us *she watches some but of course shes too young to understand any of it*

the reason i agree with Ms Spellings decision is because most of America is amidst a huge controversy about Gay Issues

i am NOT a christian nor is my wife, we are spiritual but we do not follow the big cults errr i mean religions...lol

anyhow, I do think it is inappropriot for PBS shows to teach children how to be controversial

heres a good example

Would it be OK if buster went to a family that is drug addicts?
would it be OK if Buster said "hey whats your mom doing" and the kid replys "oh shes just shootin up some dope"

but in all reason; people have the Right to live however they want; but PBS shouldnt be pushing it on all the kids ...
Its unfair that Every TV station has to submit to the will of a few pro-gay people whereas the majority of America is Anti-gay...
Plus it would create a huge controversy and possibly even kill PBS entirely

should buster go to a family of sado-masichists? *cant spell lol
should buster go learn about Satanism and animal sacrifice?
should buster go learn about violence from mafia familys?
should buster go learn about a family that believes in severe corporal punishment for their children?

oh the list goes on and on and on
its best to keep Buster clean of controversy

Buster is cool anyways and hes a nice rabbit-human hybrid
lol his dad is totally human, cept he has rabbit ears

its like a weird animal-human hybrid thing
isnt this beastiality referance Enough Controversy for one show?
LOL

I for one am ashamed of Ms. Spelling. The show is financed by taxpayers and thus should represent all the taxpayers whether they be Gay or Muslim or Christian. These extreme conservative Christians are taking children cartoons way to seriously and they should stop

Then you allow your children to learn homosexuality and leave our kids out of it.

Free speech allows shows like this to be broadcast

Does this mean that they can show nudity and sex on television?

I have a 4 year old.....

I don't mind it as long as it isn't overtly sexual.

1)don't let TV raise your kids, talk to them !

2) they will be exposed to much worse, live and in person, when the parents aren't around. You can only teach them right from wrong, values and judgement. They will have to find their own way, as all of us did.

I have 4 daughters that are 7, 5, and 3 year old twins. I am not in favor of censorship but I am in favor of not exposing small children to sexuality of ANY kind. Homosexuals are a small percentage of the population and children in homosexual households are an even smaller population. It is not the job of PBS to focus on this subject, expose my children to it and then put me in a position of having to explain it to them long before they are ready to understand it.

I volunteered in my daughters First grade class last month and the teacher had me reading a story about families. One of the pages in the book mentioned a child who lived with his two Fathers. The children were asking me where the mother was and how the child could have two fathers. These 6 year olds were so confused and it was clear that this book was highly inappropriate for this setting and these students.

If you want to discuss homosexuality with your young children, so be it. But if you are going to put homosexual parents on a PBS show that is geared toward 3-8 year olds, or read my first grader books that touch on the subject, you better give me a heads up so that I can make sure that my children are not exposed to something that I feel is MY job to discuss with them when the time is right.

It should be PARENTS discussing this with their children when the children are able to understand it, NOT PBS and NOT the schools. And quite frankly, I didn't have a problem with homosexuals until they decided to push for tolerance in such 'look at us, we're gay, love us anyway' fashion. People like Rosie O'Donnell came out of the closet and referred to herself as a 'Dyke'. When the homosexual community decided to flaunt themselves, make spectacles of themselves, and started to think it was a fantastic idea to tell the world what they do in the bedroom I started getting very offended. I don't shout to the world what I do in the privacy of my bedroom and I don't want to hear what YOU do in yours and that includes straights AND gays. LEAVE IT IN THE BEDROOM!!!

Jemison

First off, not all homosexuals are criminals and drug addicts. They are REGULAR people. They just like people of their sex. As far as I know, they wouldn't be having sex in the background while their children are talking on a program for kids.

This is, basically, a free speech issue. It is a television channel paid for by the taxpayers, owned by the government. If a homosexual couple and their kids wanted to be on there, they should be on there. Just like a straight couple and their kids can be on there.

This show seemed to be on the right track, doing what it was made to do- teach tolerance of others. They may be asking "Why does she have two daddys?" now, but imagine what they'll be asking a lot later after gaining some experience in the outside world.

"Dad, why aren't there any gay couples shown on cartoons?"

They'll probably think being a homosexual is wrong. In fact, it's already started. My six year old brother says, "That's so gay," whenever he sees someone do something really stupid. Personally, I think this is going to be just like the whole overcoming racism thing we went through in the 20th century.

[edit on 1/28/05 by Otto_States]

Originally posted by muzzleflash
ishould buster go to a family of sado-masichists? *cant spell lol
should buster go learn about Satanism and animal sacrifice?
should buster go learn about violence from mafia familys?
should buster go learn about a family that believes in severe corporal punishment for their children?

I for one would like Buster to understand why the above mentioned items have a negative impact on society instead of just a knee-jerk reaction that they are bad.

But, maybe not the best thing for children because they have yet to understand the nature of good and bad, much less the complex reasonings of "sociological impact."

Nope! Don't teach kids tolerance....teach them death, kill, hate.....I raised my three boys to be tolerant of others...they are all heterosexual grown men that have no drug problems and contribute to society.....and if one of them had been born gay, I would of loved and them still and accepted it. I sure don't think a TV show is going to turn anyone gay!
anymore than listening to music is going to make someone go out and kill somebody

Thank you for the voices of tolerance, understanding, diversity and respect for others. There are all kinds of people in the world...just because they are not like you doesn't mean they are bad.

Originally posted by AlwaysLearning
Thank you for the voices of tolerance, understanding, diversity and respect for others. There are all kinds of people in the world...just because they are not like you doesn't mean they are bad.

Does that include Margaret Spelling and others who do not wish to have this particular show aired?

Originally posted by muzzleflash
anyhow, I do think it is inappropriot for PBS shows to teach children how to be controversial

It seems to me that blocking the show from airing is atleast as controversial as the themes within.

So what lesson do the children ultimately learn from this situation?

Deesw, Nudity and sex is on tv all the time, in every other country. Know why there are so many nude beaches in every country that has one but the US? Because they, unlike this christian hell hole are exposed to it all the time. To most people in America nudity is wrong, sinful, and sexy(sometimes....) but in a nudist colony nudity is no more sexual then a game of basketball or watching the news. Hell, when I am on vacation in cottage in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan, get CTV, a canadian channel that has Sopranos, Osbournes, Sex in the City, so forth, all unedited. All the cuss words, nudity, sex, all unedited. Nudity and sex are only big bad sinful things in America while the world isn't so uptight about it. Same with drinking and smoking. Listen to foreign exchange students complain about how they can't buy alchohol, how stupid that a single tit on tv creates riots all over the country, violence being regulated, so forth, when in their country tits, violence, and beer is no big deal. French one whined how she couldn't get her favorite drink, some french alchohol drink I have no idea how to pronounce let alone spell.

Anyways, was the lesbian couple gonna have hot, wet, wild, animalistic monkey anal sex with a pickel the size of four pregnant watermelons while on tv or were they just gonna exist, which I guess is a sin, existing, since they are god fearing sheep slaves.

I dont see the problem? Bert and Ernie from Seseme St. are gay.

Its not like the show is sexual. The lesbians just open the door and teach Buster how to make syrup. Thats all there is to it. No sexuality no hoomosexuality just two women who happen to be lesbian showing buster how to make syrup.

Jemison quote "It should be PARENTS discussing this with their children when the children are able to understand it, NOT PBS and NOT the schools. And quite frankly, I didn't have a problem with homosexuals until they decided to push for tolerance in such 'look at us, we're gay, love us anyway' fashion. People like Rosie O'Donnell came out of the closet and referred to herself as a 'Dyke'. When the homosexual community decided to flaunt themselves, make spectacles of themselves, and started to think it was a fantastic idea to tell the world what they do in the bedroom I started getting very offended. I don't shout to the world what I do in the privacy of my bedroom and I don't want to hear what YOU do in yours and that includes straights AND gays. LEAVE IT IN THE BEDROOM!!!"


i couldnt agree with you more Jem, im like 150% with you on this one

these so called "Tolerance" crusaders want to push their sexual agenda on everyone, and then when we REJECT their Agenda, they assult us with INSULTS about how we ARE INTOLERANT and liken us to "Racists"

perhaps they are angery we have an opinion and we are allowed to choose our own path in life

for liberal they sure can be hypocritic because ; they say we have to be "tolerant of homosexuals at every turn" yet they dont realize they are being INTOLERANT towards Heterosexuals who dislike being forced into accepting other peoples agendas

right, the homosexuals ARE intolerant towards Heterosexuals!
they say that if we dont "accept them" then they BASH US and liken us to "KKK or Nazis" or whatever Horrible labels they put on us!!!

I have Freedom, and with my Freedom i choose to teach my child the unhealthy-ness of certain lifestyles, homosexuality included
I am not intolerant, i never killed anyone for their beliefs
I LET THEM LIVE and i LET THEM continue pushing their agenda!
but i have a RIGHT to press my OWN agenda in regaurds to this issue

MY agenda is LEAVE MY KIDS ALONE

forcing children to be confronted with something so controversial is ONLY going to cause MORE controversy

trust me 85% of america would be outraged if you put homosexuality on EVERY childrens show!!!

Did you forget our last election? the WHOLE election was decided by the "Gay issue"
and America is agianst it for the most part

so the 85% of taxpays opinion is LESS important than the 15% of taxpayers opinion?????
Exactly, Most Americans choose NOT to see it
Thats why PBS a public station, didnt air it, Because 85% of us are agianst it!!!

and stop ranting about how america is "A christian Hell-hole"
most people arent even christian anymore
im not christian
none of my friends are religious either

and i live in the so-called "Bible Belt"
but no one here pushes their christian views on ME or MY family
They leave us alone 100% of the time, like good people would

Why than, should the Gay issue be pushed on my children before ive even confronted them with the God issue?

Give me one good reason

Yes but seeing how PBS is a public station shouldn't it represent all viewpoints of all Americans although those opinions conflict with other peoples opinions. The Gays, Blacks, Hispanics and Whites all pay for the station so they should be proportionally represented.

But the show doesn't promote lesbians, they don't go into the bedroom and show off the sex toys or the videotape they made, they make syrup. WTF? How is that promoting lesbians? DO they even say they are lesbians? They could just be two freinds who live in the same house if the veiwers aren't told they are lesbians.

why is it that people look at homosexuals and the only thing they see is the sex?

would any of you say that your sex life defines who you are?

I don't think that any children's show should have sexual themes, of course... but if it's just two women standing there, regardless of whether they happen to be in love, I think that being offended is a little thin-skinned.

This statement brought to you by a born and bred conservative, by the way