Google cache speaks in the SpongeBob matter
In his letter to supporters in the wake of the whole SpongeBob kafluffle, Dr. James Dobson notes that the argument isn’t about cartoon characters but rather about the organization that is using them to promote “We Are Family Day,” March 11. Dobson’s evangelical Christian organization concerns itself with matters of the family (Focus On The Family), so it’s understandable that they’d be interested in any event involving 61,000 public and private schools that uses the term, especially a video with cartoon characters. Dobson didn’t like what he found, and that’s his prerogative, but here’s where it gets interesting.
Dobson’s letter states that the organization behind the special day — the We Are Family Foundation — is actually a front for promoting a homosexual lifestyle to children, something to which his ministry is passionately opposed. As evidence, he sites text from their Website, specifically a section addressed to teachers on what kinds of classroom discussions to have in connection with “We Are Family Day.” According to Dobson’s letter, the foundation removed the offending section from its Website.
So I went cruising Google to find the pages in cache. Low and behold, a search of “wearefamilyfoundation.org +teachers” produces the cached file. Here are the first ten discussion topics:
SECTION 1
These activities are designed to be completed in 5 to 10 minutes.1.1 Questioning Order
Respond to ordered phrases; discuss hierarchical ranking in language.1.2 Generating a Description
Conduct a “write and pass” exercise; define identity terms (”gay” or “old.”)1.3 Rating Your Behavior
Complete a worksheet; expose student behaviors as they relate to “-isms.”1.4 Talking About Being “Out”
Answer worksheet questions; discuss perceptions of sexual orientations.1.5 Uncovering Attitudes About Sexual Orientation
Write definitions; explore the impact of homophobia and heterosexism.1.6 Looking at Looks
Write freely about experiences with appearance bias.1.7 Treating People in Parallel Manner
Rewrite sentences to give parallel treatment to various groups.1.8 Respecting Age
Debunk the myths behind adjectives associated only with certain age groups.1.9 Seeing the Whole Person
Rewrite sentences to “put the person back in.”1.10 Appreciating Diversity
Fill in the blanks, and raise awareness about perceptions of diversity.
The real question we ought to be asking — regardless of how we feel about gays and their struggle — is why the We Are Family Foundation felt it necessary to remove this material from its Website.
This entry was posted on Sunday, January 30th, 2005 at 8:47 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
January 30th, 2005 at 4:48 pm
Terry Heaton has the most intelligent post on the "Dobson vs. SpongeBob" dust-up I’ve read, so I’m just going to repro the whole thing here. Thanks, Terry.