For the past six weeks or more, a group called the
Family Values Coalition has been waging an all-out campaign to stop
Nickelodeon from airing a “Nick
News” special called “My Family Is Different” that examines the problems faced by
gay parents and their children. The Coalition claims the show is “nothing more than pure
promotion of the
homosexual lifestyle.”
Despite over 100,000
protests from outraged individuals and organizations,
Nickelodeon aired the program anyway. They never once faltered in the belief that showing it was the right thing to do.
Of course, no one at the
Coalition has actually seen the show “My Family Is Different,” which broadcasted Tuesday the 19th, 2002, at 9:00 PM EST. Maybe if the Coalition had taken a look, it would have discovered that the show not only features children and adults from both sides of the issue (gay and
anti-homosexual,) but it also emphasizes
tolerance,
respect and
diversity…things no one can argue with.
Linda Ellerbee, the
veteran journalist who hosts the program, says at the beginning of the show, “My Family Is Different”' is “not about
sex. It does not tell you what to think.” Rather, she adds, it is “a good starting place for a
family discussion about this issue.”
She couldn’t be more correct. “My Family Is Different” does not get into the right or wrong of
homosexuality from a
religious or
social perspective. It acknowledges that in certain
faiths, homosexuality is viewed as a
sin, but it goes on to point out, through young
Christians and
Muslims, that those same faiths stress
tolerance for
one and all.
The issue at hand is not homosexuality as a
lifestyle, but instead the problems kids face when their parents are gay; the
verbal and
physical abuse that they sometimes get from
classmates at school and inconsiderate adults. While the main discussion takes place between Ellerbee and a group of young teens, there are also comments by adults of varying viewpoints, from
Rosie O'Donnell to
Jerry Falwell.
This program, in my eyes, is a wonderful step in the right direction for
humanity. If tolerance can be reached, then so can
acceptance, and eventually,
equality.
Sources:
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/3485734.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/17/gay.parents.ap/index.html