To Lindsay and Angela, re: their letter in the Guardian yesterday (Saturday, June 14):
Dearhearts, it must have been so traumatic to see two women kissing–and on your own television in your own living room! I'm clutching my pearls right along with you, my poppets! The travesty! The outrage! The sheer lunacy of your letter to the Guardian!
I am a little confused, as you started your letter with "a man who had injured his leg and lost his toes," followed by: "It seemed pretty interesting so we continued to watch." Just so I'm understanding this correctly: you're watching a guy who is basically missing half his foot...but two ladies having a makeout session is suddenly the most horrific thing you've experienced since (I'm just guessing here) the price of flour went up (again)?
I'm assuming from your heartfelt indignation that you're not big into Carnival where the streets of our cities become immense Serengeti-like half-naked, sweaty, grinding orgies in the streets. I don't blame you for that; I think Carnival can be a tad on the graphic side myself–but back to the two ladies who dared to make out in your living room. I have a couple of questions:
Were the ladies clothed (more than a bikini top and thong)?Did their upper and lower lady parts remain covered (that is, no nip-slip or a momentary downstairs peekaboo)?
If the answer is yes to both of these questions, well then, talk done. No harm, no foul. Personally, I'd rather watch two people make out and wonder where their life will take them, rather than see some poor fellow with half a foot. I'd probably stay awake all night wondering how he could possibly rock-climb and rappel up and down the cliff-faces we call sidewalks just to get a cartoon of milk at the parlour store.
We now come to the re-hash segment of the programme, brought to you by the fine folks at (Enter Brand Name Here). "What is it saying to our little innocent ones?" Based on the little snippet about the show you were watching, I imagine it would tell little Timmy that he could be a hero and save people's lives as a paramedic (a sincerely laudable goal)...once his bromance with "long-term roommate" Johnny doesn't progress any further.
Ultimately, it is up to the parents to parent their children. I'm not saying the media doesn't have a significant influence in this area, but it's the parents' job to explain what is and isn't acceptable conduct.
I remember as a child sneaking back downstairs late one night to watch Silence of the Lambs. (Most of the boys in my class had made a pact to rebel against parental control in this regard. My mother still doesn't know I watched it. Well, I guess she does now. Sorry, mum!).
So back to Hannibal Lector. I was scared, I was shocked, I was disgusted...much like how you were about the two ladies kissing. Did I go into school the next day and hack my friends and classmates into pieces, throw them all on a heavy-duty wok and down a bottle of Chianti? No. Why? Because I knew I wasn't supposed to do it...though I was severely disappointed that I didn't see any mute gamboling lambs.
Everyone has their views on trigger-happy issues such as sex, violence, religion or similar. (Amazingly, the three are almost intrinsically linked). Whatever beliefs and values you use to prepare your kids for life, do your best and trust that they will find their way; even if it isn't necessarily the prescribed plan you've thoughtfully laid out for them.
Before I sign off, I simply must comment on the "gay agenda." What exactly is this agenda? Is it like the Communist Manifesto or, perhaps, Mein Kampf? I keep hearing this "agenda" being bandied around but it's like the mythical unicorn. No one's really seen it, let alone what doctrine it actually states. Who wrote it? When was it published?
Has it been translated into multiple languages like the major religious texts? No? That's shamefully neglectful, inefficient, and awfully remiss of the LGBT community! How are they supposed to organise membership drives and garner a faithful flock without a book to whack repeatedly into heterosexual's faces until they eventually succumb and choose the "Righteous Path"? Tsk tsk.
Oh, I almost forgot. One last thing, I promise. This is the first time you had seen two homosexuals kiss on prime time television? Seriously?Please tell me it wasn't also just last week where you saw Captain Kirk go at it with Uhura.
Please. I am (correctly?) inferring, based on the kissing women fiasco, that your reference to: "just now they will be showing glimpses of anal intercourse" is regarding two men. Just as a heads-up, according to New York Magazine, an average of about 35 per cent of heterosexual couples engage in anal intercourse.Bottom line: if you don't want all these horrifying images in your living room...maybe you could shove the television into the bedroom and watch it there instead. Just a suggestion.
David Cogdell
via e-mail