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Popular Culture Review
And who were the on-screen advocates of this perceived corruption?
According to American Family Association “researcher” Ed Vitagliano, none
other than SpongeBob SquarePants, Barney the Dinosaur, Arthur, Dora the
Explorer, JoJo, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Big Bird, Bob the Builder, Winnie the
Pooh, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and a host of other
children’s TV characters. And what did Mr. Vitagliano claim was the source of
this alleged homosexual recruiting effort? According to the posted AgapePress
story:
“When you go to the We Are Family Foundation website,
there is a ‘tolerance pledge’ that children and others are
encouraged to sign, which includes sexual orientation,” he
[Vitagliano] explains. That, he says, is the crux of the
problem. “While we want everyone to respect other people’s
beliefs, we do not consider it appropriate for children’s
television to be used in an effort to indoctrinate children to
accept homosexuality.”
The pro-family researcher sees an age-old tactic being
employed by those behind the project. “This is a bait-andswitch approach. It’s been used for years,” he says, “and
homosexuals are now using well-known and beloved
children’s television characters in an effort to use [them] as
bait and switch.”
Diversity, tolerance, and respect are bad things? The WAFF “Tolerance Pledge”
read:
Tolerance is a personal decision that comes from a belief that
every person is a treasure. I believe that America’s diversity is
its strength. I also recognize that ignorance, insensitivity and
bigotry can turn that diversity into a source of prejudice and
discrimination.
To help keep diversity a wellspring of strength and make
America a better place for all, I pledge to have respect for
people wiiose abilities, beliefs, culture, race, sexual identity or
other characteristics are different from my own
(www.wearefamilyfoundation.org).
Could it be that the AFA’s “pro-family researcher”—and Dr. James
Dobson of Focus on the Family who joined the campaign against diversity,
tolerance, and respect for others, urging Christians to stand together to stop the