Oh this is ridiculous. I've seen this episode of Sesame Street MANY, MANY times as it's all that my PBS station reruns.

During the episode Oscar the Grouch is reporting for GNN (Grouch News Network), and when Oscar becomes to nice and generous, thus offending one of his grouch viewers, she phones in and says she is switching to "Pox News" which, she implies, is more trashy.

Now, to a grouch, trash is a compliment. It's not used as a synonym for "lascivious" or "poor quality". The grouch literally means trash. She lives in a TRASH can. She eats, sleeps, and breathes TRASH. She's a grouch!

And if we're really going to draw politics and media into this (oh must we really?), then I will point out that many pointed jabs were made at GNN as being trashy and going to the dogs. Technically Liberals could stir up just as much harumphing as the Right.

But I think most serious, thoughtful people see that this was not a political attack.

Our kids won't see it as the Left's attempt to "undermine" mommy's authority (as one Internet user opined). And kids don't think Sesame Street is calling their parents trashy, they think Oscar is funny!

I think a summary of the situation was best said by an anonymous Right-leaning Internet poster:

--quote--
"If we conservatives are to be successful in the media, we can't keep grabbing our skirts and shrieking every time we are parodied, especially when parodied on a equal level with left leaning counterparts. Man up.”
--end quote--

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9cSQx6NYzrU/RxU-7HRNQBI/AAAAAAAAC_I/tyVDo7j0uJc/s400/uvs071016-012.JPG

Asker's Rating:

Permalink | Report